After Effects
by DuskLikeDawn
Summary: Just as Quinn comes back into Sookie's life, something goes incredibly wrong. She won't be able to fix it herself and will need help of all her Supe friends. Immediately follows the short story 'Gift Wrap' in the anthology 'Wolfsbane and Mistletoe'.
1. Prologue: Christmas with Niall

A/N: This is only the prologue. And it's extremely short. I plan on the story lasting quite a few chapters. They will all be a lot longer than this one of course! If you haven't read the short story 'Gift Wrap' in the anthology 'Wolfsbane and Mistletoe' it's okay, I summarize a bit. However, I do not go into detail. If you haven't read it and don't want it spoiled for you, you don't want to read this!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Charlaine Harris, the plot is mine, but she can have it if she wants! I'm nowhere near as talented as Ms. Charlaine Harris, so I'm sure she'll decline the offer.

**Prologue: Christmas with Niall**

My Great-Grandfather, Niall spent Christmas with me, which made me more happy than I can say. I didn't have a single friend or family member other than him to spend the day with. Jason did call, but I was still a little angry with him for his latest deceit, giving two feuding werewolf packs permission to use my land to work out their problems. Not that I was speaking to him before that, because of his previous betrayal. With Niall being here, I wondered about Claude and Claudine. They were my family, too. Claudine was my fairy godmother, and my cousin, her twin brother Claude was just as beautiful as she, but only on the outside. Claude was happy to remain a stripper, but Claudine, who works in customer services at a department store, is working her was up the ladder to become an angel. And Niall, he's a prince, the prince, I believe, of all fairies.

We had eaten a smallish meal for Christmas, but he declared it all delicious. He even seemed to mean it. Once we were stuffed, I felt drowsy while we sat in the chairs in front of the fireplace, talking about my life. The blood bond with Eric, the break up with Quinn, everything that had happened since Bill entered my life. He'd heard most of it before, but he was very interested in every detail. He was very thoughtful when I told him of my selfish reasons for breaking up with Quinn. He was extremely interested in my deceased (for the second time) cousin Hadley's son Hunter, and encouraged me to get to know him. But he never gave a word of judgment against me, not for anything.

During the brief silences, I went back to thinking about Preston, the Were who needed my help last night. I couldn't believe I slept with him. I'd had many temptations before and never given into them. God knows, if I had wanted a one-night stand, he was perfect for it, but the fact remains, I'm not a one-night-stand kind of girl. What had come over me? The thing that made me feel worse, though, was the fact that I didn't feel too bad about it. That wasn't like me.

"Granddaughter," Niall interrupted my thoughts, "you are about to have company. Before I tell you who is coming, know that I did not invite him; however, I am pleased he is here. This man is honorable; I know that from you and from my own dealings with him. I would like you to introduce me to him. I will have a few words with him, and then I'll leave the two of you alone." In the distance I could hear someone pulling in my driveway, it sounded like a big truck.

"Who is it Grandfather?" I asked him.

"I'll go with you to answer the door." He replied, instead of answering my question. Before we got to the front door someone was knocking on it. Odd, I could have sworn they'd just pulled into the driveway. I went to look through the peephole, but Niall brushed me aside and answered the door.

Standing in the doorway was a breath-taking man. He was dressed in blue jeans and a snug blue sweater (the same color as mine). He stood well over six and a half feet tall, his bald head was shining in the porch light. And he was staring down at Niall with eyes the color of pansies.

"Quinn," I breathed.


	2. Chapter 1: The Tiger

A/N: This chapter was very hard to write, I mean the first time was easy, the second time a bit more difficult. But the third time through the fifth time, it got to the point where I had changed so much and read it so many times that I'm not completely sure I accomplished my goals. If anyone is confused by anything in this chapter, please don't hesitate to tell me and hopefully I can make it more clear.

**Chapter 1: The Tiger**

Niall stepped aside to let Quinn in the house. Quinn was radiating confusion. I was nervous and feeling curiously shy.

"Quinn, this is Niall, my Great-Grandfather. Niall, this John Quinn, my, uh," what was I supposed to refer to him as now? Ex-boyfriend just seemed tacky. "Friend," I finished lamely.

"Prince, it's good to see you," Quinn said and bowed to Niall.

"You as well. Please, come in. Be seated." I had a momentary flash of _Hey, this is my house! What if I don't want him to sit? _But then I realized that this was what it would have been like if I had parents left or grandparents, he's my elder. Even though it was my house he really should get more respect than that. Besides he's a prince! Who was I to dictate _anything_ he did? Embarrassed now, I remembered my manners. Gran would never forgive me if I forgot them, even if I was in shock.

"Would either of you like anything to drink?" I asked.

"Some of that tea of yours would be lovely," Niall said.

"Yeah, Babe, tea would be great." I left to get their drinks as Niall began talking.

Sometimes I wish I had supe hearing. I couldn't tell a word they were saying, even straining my ears. Trying to listen in on thoughts was just a rude thing to do to my great grandfather, and I couldn't listen to Quinn's without opening myself to Niall's thoughts as well. Actually, I don't think I could hear Niall's thoughts at all. _Wait!_ What is Quinn even doing here? It's Christmas for crying out loud! He has a family, shouldn't he be with them?

As I walked back in to the living room, both men stopped talking and looked up at me. I sat down and began to sip my tea. I was feeling self-conscious. I didn't know why Quinn was here, but I couldn't help feeling glad to see him. Add to that, I had no idea what the two were talking about while I was out of the room. I had a feeling it was about me, however. It seemed as though the two knew each other, though not well. They seemed to share a mutual respect.

"So what did I miss while I was getting tea?" They continued to stare at me until I looked at my feet. Obviously I wasn't going to get an answer, okay, changing the topic, now. "Um, okay, um, what brings you to Bon Temps, Quinn?"

"Actually, I have a Christmas present for you. Let me run out to the truck and get it."

"No, don't! I don't have a present for you; I wasn't expecting to see you at Christmas." I protested. I would feel really bad getting something from him without giving him something in return.

"Babe, this is something I ordered for you a long time ago. There was even a waiting list for it. I'd really appreciate it if I could give it to you."

"Maybe you should wait to give it to me until I've had time to get a present for you, too." I suggested hopefully. Quinn was not taking this well. He thought I was turning it down because it was from him.

"Sookie," Niall scolded.

"Okay," I said meekly. With just one word, Niall was able to make me feel like a recalcitrant second grader. I reflected again that this was what having a grandparent was supposed to be like. Quick as a flash Quinn was off the couch and out the front door. "What does he want, Niall? I broke up with him, and badly."

"I'd like to stay to see you open your present, and then I'll make my departure." We sat in silence until Quinn came thundering back in the house with two huge boxes, he was being careful not to shift them around too much.

"This one first," he said and sat the biggest box down. It had a separately wrapped lid that could be pulled off the bottom. I pulled the top off slowly.

"Oh, Quinn!" Inside was a cage, where a beautiful black and orange, tiger striped kitten sat. It looked up at me with squinted eyes, mouth opening in a wide yawn. "It's beautiful. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy, that way you won't have to worry about kittens." I picked him up and cuddled him; he was surprisingly heavy, very muscular.

"What kind is he? He seems different than the other cats I've had. Heavier."

"He's called a Toyger. It's a newer breed of cats. He's like a miniature tiger."

"You got me a tiger?" I was getting a little scared. Tigers are huge, when Quinn shifts into tiger form he's seven feet long and four hundred fifty pounds.

"No, Babe, this is a regular cat that has a Bengal tiger for a grandpa. It'll get about the size of Bob." Bob was my roommate Amelia's old boyfriend. They were having adventurous sex one night and she somehow managed to turn him into a cat. She had to flee New Orleans to make sure her mentor never found out. But find out she did. Her name is Octavia and she's now our other roommate. Thankfully she was able to turn Bob back into a man, but he'd been a cat for several months. The last time I saw him, he was on his way back to New Orleans. We've wanted to get a new (real) cat ever since.

"Wow, he's perfect. I hope I can take care of him since being part tiger is probably a bit different than a regular cat." I snuggled back in the couch cuddling the beautiful little tiger cat. "What should I name him?" I looked back and forth between the two. I pressed my nose down in the kitten's fur and realized he smelled like Quinn when he was in his tiger form. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Quinn must have caught on to what I was doing because suddenly he was kneeling down in front of me.

"Remember the first time I changed in front of you?" I nodded. "It seemed like you were doing all you could not to snuggle me, so I thought I'd give you a tiger you could snuggle up to whenever you wanted. I ordered him when I got home from New Orleans."

"Well, Great-Granddaughter, I must be going. Don't forget to call me often." He didn't seem peeved at being practically ignored; in fact he seemed to have been enjoying himself.

"Thanks for coming, Niall. I thought I was going to have a horrible Christmas and you made it a great one."

"One thing before I go." He turned to face Quinn, "I know you have hopes with my Great-Granddaughter. I will not stand in the way. In fact I encourage it. I think you are one of the better choices she could make." He looked at me then, "a much better choice than any vampire." He turned back to Quinn. "You must know that your actions during the Nevada takeover put her life in jeopardy." Quinn started to interrupt, but Niall put up a hand to stop him. "She asked me to find you at first. She changed her mind; I believe not wanting to ask me for a task so large with our relationship being so new. You were here, in her yard when Victor Madden was debating on whether or not to kill her. She nearly phoned me that night. It would have started a war, the likes of which you've never seen. If I'd saved you as she originally asked I could have gotten you without anyone ever knowing. She wasn't sure if you were still angry with her over the blood bond. She didn't know if you were really missing, or just avoiding her. Perhaps if you would have let her know you were in trouble, everything would have turned out differently." His voice had gotten a softer thoughtful tone, but now it turned sharp as a tack. "It will do you well to heed my warning, I am not an enemy you want to have, and hurting my kin will make me your enemy. Treat her well, and you and I shall become great friends."

"Prince, I didn't know that Sookie would be in danger. I thought I was just handling another problem that my mother had created. I never knew that _Eric_ would lead them here. I sent my sister to warn Sookie. I could care less about the vamps, though I know they're her friends, she was the only one I was worried about."

"How short-sighted of you John Quinn. I may understand your actions, however, the fact is I could care less about your insane mother and immature sister. As long as Sookie cares about you, I will too. And I'll also care for those she holds dear, such as Eric, Bill and Pam, even if they are vampires. I don't approve of her association with them, though I won't stand in her way. To love a fairy, you must love their strong-will, their individuality, their independence. Fairies are passionate in love, friendship and even in hatred. My Great-Granddaughter is mostly human, but she has inherited these gifts, and many more that have yet to be seen. Once again, I say, treat her well and we will remain friends."

With that Niall smiled at me and _pop_ he was gone.

"Wow. I've never been reamed by a prince before." He looked at me in amazement. "You don't know how sorry I am for how everything turned out that night, Babe." This was _so_ not how I wanted to spend Christmas.

"Let's talk about it later." I wasn't in the mood to rehash hurtful things. And my great-grandfathers words had left me cold. I didn't know who I was angry at right now, and, truth was, I wasn't completely sure if I was angry. I felt like I should be angry. Then again, maybe _someone_ needed to explain to Quinn that he had hurt me. But Niall hadn't even done that. He told him not to hurt me. Like having a vampire takeover in your living room wasn't enough to hurt someone?

"How come you never told me Niall was your grandfather?" Now I was a little angry.

"Because I only met him shortly before the Nevada takeover," I snapped. "If you recall, I called you about a thousand times. How was I supposed to tell you anything when you wouldn't answer the phone?" I should have stopped there, but it was like a floodgate had opened. "You go deal with your mother's shit and leave me here all alone – again! Did you know that there were _three_ attempts on my life when you were gone? Did you know that I got dragged into the were war? Did you know I got bit by a werewolf at the were war? Did you know the only thing that saved my life was Sam shifting into a lion once and almost dying? Luckily Claudine showed up in the nick of time and stood over me after I'd been bitten! Eric got his throat shot out another time. Oh, and another time, I got lucky by throwing a book at a guys head who was trying to kill me and he fell on his knife!" Quinn looked stricken.

"Babe, I didn't know you went through all that. I thought you were safe as long as I left you out of what was going on in Nevada."

"Did you ever think that if you would have called, even once, you would have had some idea? I don't go very long at a time without attempts on my life. God, you should know that by now! And Frannie said you didn't want me to try to get you out, guess what? I actually had a way I could have gotten you, your mother and your sister out, and probably without anyone getting hurt! But instead, the vamps from Las Vegas are showing up here, coming to where I work, coming to the wedding you were supposed to go to with me!" I was really losing it. I knew if I didn't rein in my temper I was going to do something I regretted.

"Sookie," uh oh, Sookie, not Babe, that didn't sound good. "Will you please try to look at this from my point of view? My mother is not a good mother, she's never been. I've been the one to practically raise Frannie. My mother got in trouble and I tried to get to her, get it cleaned up. This wasn't only my problem, it was a problem for the entire supernatural community. You have to understand, she's insane. And what would happen to the entire shifter community if my mother was found out? By the time I got to her, it was too late. The vamps had already gotten her. I would have left her, I'm serious here. _I would have left her._ But then they took Frannie. They said they would use her for blood and sex. Could you have let anyone go through that? Especially the only family you have in the world?" His voice was getting steadily higher, emotion making it quaver. "But I risked Frannie, even with all that. I risked her. I asked her to come here and tell you what was going on. I wasn't so worried about myself, as long as the two of you were safe I didn't care. I knew you would help protect Frannie once she was here." His voice went to a whisper, "I never in a million years thought that Eric would lead them to your house."

He wasn't really telling me anything I didn't already know or that I hadn't guessed. But hearing him say it, made me feel about two inches tall. I told him I wanted to be number one, but he'd already put me in that place. And I hadn't known it. It was true that if things would have went badly that night, Frannie and I both would probably have died. And Quinn would have died to protect us. This wasn't the first time I had felt guilt over our break-up. But it was the first time I'd felt in the wrong. Not that I would admit it, of course!

"Do you promise that you'll let me in on whatever is going on in your life?"

"I promise. I won't leave you out again."

"Thank you. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want to enjoy Christmas." I'm really good at putting off things I don't want to deal with.

"Can you just open your other present? We can talk about us later." Even though I was the one that didn't want to talk, I still felt a pleasant shiver when he said _us_.

"Hold the baby," I said, shoving the anger and self-loathing to the back of my mind while I handed the kitten to him. I opened the other box to find an assortment of toys for the cat, leashes, harnesses, even a scratching pad. Everything I would need, except food and litter, and I already had those.

"Quinn, thank you. It's the perfect present. I've been wanting to get another cat now that Bob is human again, but I've been putting it off." I stood up to give him a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.

"Babe, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too Quinn. More than I like to admit."

"We could be good together. You know that right? Hell, we could be great together."

"I know that, too." I whispered into his chest, "but let's talk about it when it's not Christmas anymore. I don't want stress. I just want to be nothing but happy for a day." I felt the mood change. I didn't know how it happened, but giving him a 'thank you' hug wasn't a priority anymore. I just wanted him to hold me and never let go. I'd forgotten how good he felt. Forgotten how well I fit in his arms. We stood that way for awhile. I felt my stress ease away.

I looked up at him wanting to see his beautiful face. He bent toward me, slowly, giving me every chance to pull away. Then, his lips close to mine, he stopped, and I knew he was waiting on me to close the distance. I reached up that extra quarter inch and kissed him fiercely. With a low growl he lifted me up to his height and kissed me deeply, passionately, opening his lips, flicking his raspy tongue inside my mouth. I opened for him, practically willed him to kiss me deeper. And then we were on the couch, me with a knee on either side of his legs. His lips became more demanding, our kiss filled with a passion I haven't felt in so long. Heat ran straight from my lips to become a fire between my legs. My hands went to the back of his head, pulling him even closer to me. I couldn't get close enough.

"What the –" I felt fur on my stomach; I looked down to see the little unnamed kitten had squeezed in between us trying to get attention. I picked the kitten up, giving Quinn time to get himself under control. I waited for his breathing to return to normal before giving him a quick peck on the lips to show I didn't regret our little (hot) make-out session. Then I slid off of his lap to curl into his side.

He put his arm around me, pulled me as close to him as I could get. "I missed this, babe, it's killed me while we were apart." He put his lips closer to my ear, "I would lay awake at night, thinking about you curled up in bed with me. How you used to lay your head on my chest, and fall asleep listening to my heartbeat." I reached up to kiss him again.

"I remembered all that, too. I always loved how you would just hold me. Making me feel warm and safe," My voice turned to a whisper, "and whole."

"This is nice, better than nice, perfect."

"Yeah," I whispered back. We sat in silence, reveling in the feel of each other. After a few minutes I asked in a normal voice, "So what should I name the little guy?"

"I don't know, he's yours, you get to pick."

"Hmm, well, I can't give him the same kind of name I'd give just any cat, this one bein' part tiger."

"What did you name your last cat?"

"Bob was named when we got him, ya know!" I laughed, "We didn't really get to pick one."

"I mean the real cat you had."

"Oh, her name was Tina," I thought for a second. "How 'bout Tony? Like Tony the Tiger on the cereal box?" What I was really thinking about was naming him Quinn, but since it looked like I might get to keep the real Quinn in my life, naming the kitten that could get confusing.

"What do you think?" Quinn asked the cat. "Does Tony sound like a good name to you?" Quinn and I both laughed as the cat meowed. "Tony it is," he said, patting him on the head. His hand was bigger than the entire cat!

"Do you want to watch a Christmas-y movie?" I asked him. I'd bought _Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too_ at Wal-Mart the other day, and I'd been waiting for Christmas day to actually watch it.

"Sure, babe, if I got you by my side, I'll do anything you want." I blushed seeing the thoughts on his mind, which weren't Christmas-y at all, and looked down at Tony, still on my lap.

"Uh, let me get Tony some food, and show him the litter box, first." I made my way across the living room before wondering if Quinn had eaten yet. "Oh! Would you like some leftover Christmas dinner?"

"That sounds great." He followed me into the kitchen, and began making his own plate. I let him. I poured him a glass of milk and he dug in. He just seemed so _right_ here. He just didn't seem so much like a guest, more like he belonged here. I shook my head trying to clear those thoughts away. Today was going to be _uncomplicated_; I wasn't supposed to think about anything being more or less than what it was _right now_.

I sat at the table with him, him with a heaping plate, and me with a piece of pumpkin pie. And we talked. Nothing important, we just talked about life, movies we liked, sports, his work, Merlotte's. I felt content for the first time in months, relaxed.

After I popped some popcorn, we curled up to watch _Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too. _During the movie we somehow ended up sprawled lengthwise on the couch, his arms wrapped around me, and Tony laying on us both. _That little kitten sure liked people, _I thought.

I was holding Quinn's hand thinking how I never wanted him to leave when I was suddenly filled with rage. I was completely disconcerted; I had been happy two seconds before. Quinn felt the change in me and sat up. I couldn't get a grip on it. What was wrong? My heart started beating faster, my palms sweating, angry tears formed behind my eyelids, I was breathing so hard I thought I would hyperventilate.

"Babe, what is it? Babe," I could barely hear him, it sounded like his voice was coming from far away. There was static in my ears. I needed to hit someone, throw something, or break something. This wasn't like me. I tried to calm down, to steady my breathing. It wouldn't work. Quinn started shaking me a little, and I heard a scream, a cry of rage, and it was coming from me. I needed to get away before I did something stupid. I ran. I ran through the house, into the kitchen, out the back door, made a beeline for the woods. I had to get away. I didn't know why, but I had to run.

The trees flew by me so fast I couldn't distinguish between them. Thorns grabbed at my hair and clothes, tearing small gashes in my exposed skin. I couldn't even tell where I was. I ran, my sock-sheathed feet sinking in the mud then slinging it backward with each step. I ran, gasping for breath, my shoulders on fire from swinging my arms. I couldn't stop. The night was clear as day, though tinged an angry red.

I ran until the pain in my side crippled me and I fell to the cold ground, my knees sinking into the mud that surrounded me. The anger had not abated, though, I was still enraged. I screamed, over and over, screamed myself hoarse, clawing at the ground, flinging clumps of mud and grass all over. And just as suddenly as it started, it was over. I was back to me.

Gasping, I looked around me, trying to see where I was. It was pitch-black. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. "Oh, God" I cried. Everything was bright as day while I was running, what happened? Did I black out? Did I turn blind?

"Are you okay now?" a familiar voice whispered from the left.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah, babe, I'm here," he said gently.

"What happened? Why did I run? Why did I get so angry?" He gathered me into his arms, rubbing my back.

"Babe, you ran so fast, I could hardly keep up. I don't know how you did it. I thought you'd kill yourself running into a tree or something. I don't even know how you could see well enough to stay between the trees."

"I was so angry, but just a second before I was happier than I'd been in so long. It just didn't make sense."

"Eric," he growled.

"Eric?"

"Your blood bond, I'm sure it was his anger you felt." His voice was colder than ice.

"I could feel his anger all the way here? When he's in Shreveport?"

"If he was really angry, yes. Haven't you talked to him about the blood bond?"

"Quinn," I pressed myself further into his arms, "Can we just go home?"

He picked me up and started walking. I had no idea where we were. I didn't even know if I was still on my property. I didn't want to think about what happened. I just wanted to feel small in his arms, feel the affection coming plain as day from his mind and let it just wash over me. I wanted to pass out. But I knew I couldn't. I had to know what happened. But, Eric was probably the only one who would have the answers to my questions.

"How long was I running?"

"Over an hour, shhh, don't worry about it. Sleep. I'll get you home." I felt his kiss, gentle and undemanding on my lips. But, before I could take his advice, my mouth opened all by its self and I surprised myself saying,

"I almost love you; I know I could really love you. I feel so safe with you, loved, protected." I snuggled further into him, and I thought I heard "I already _do_ love you, babe," but I was half asleep and I wasn't sure. I let sleep take me.

* * *

A/N: I don't know how well I got across what I was trying to. Niall's speach to Quinn was supposed to sound like a very powerful man both telling Quinn he approved of him and also telling him that he wouldn't hesitate to harm him if he harmed Sookie. This was meant to sort of redeem him for what we all know he did in 'Gift Wrap'. I wanted him to sound like a father giving a daughters date the 'I have a shotgun and I'm not afraid to use it' speech. Please tell me if it didn't come across that way.


	3. Chapter 2: The Viking

**Chapter 2: The Viking**

"What did you do to her?" I heard a too familiar rage filled voice ask.

"Viking, this was your doing." Quinn hissed. I opened my eyes and found I was still being held by Quinn; he was walking toward my back porch, where Eric stood looking livid. Curiously, all I felt was sleepy and comfortable in Quinn's arms. I didn't feel the happiness that usually came when Eric was near, nor did I feel his anger. Interesting.

"Eric what are you doing here?" I glared at him.

"Sookie, this is a conversation we need to have _alone._" Now it was his turn to glare.

"I'm really tired, I want to get a shower and go to bed. I don't feel like dealing with you right now." I turned to Quinn and in a nicer voice, said, "You can put me down, I think I can walk." If anything that seemed to make Eric even angrier.

My legs were a little wobbly, but nothing too bad. The worst thing, though, was my clothes were plastered to my body, I reeked of sweat. I was covered in mud and small amounts of blood. I didn't even _want _to know what had happened to my hair, or worse my makeup.

"We _will_ talk Sookie. And we will talk tonight."

"Eric," Quinn said in an even tone, "she said she didn't want to deal with you. That's your invitation to _leave._"

"Tiger, this has nothing to do with you, this is between me and my lo- between Sookie and I."

"Say what you came to say, Eric. Quinn is here now, and I'm not asking him to leave. Say in front of him, or don't say anything at all." I walked in the door and Quinn walked right behind me, his hand possessively on my lower back. I decided the wisest thing would be to not acknowledge his touch for what it was. I still couldn't feel anything from Eric, but I could clearly make out Quinn's disgust with him and his jealousy where he was concerned, but there was also hope in his mind.

Eric didn't follow us in. I started laughing when I realized the problem. "Eric, you can come in. There is blood in the fridge. Quinn, there's beer if you want it, or more sweet tea, and, well, just help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. I"m going to at least change my clothes." I walked into my bedroom, gathered sweatpants and a t-shirt, and took them with me. With Eric being in my house, who knew if I would be alone when I came out of the bathroom.

Looking in the mirror I hardly recognized myself; I had small cuts all over my face. My hands were covered in mud; I just knew it would take weeks to dig all that mud out from under my fingernails. I sighed, then washed my hands and face in the sink. I just threw my socks away there was no way those things were coming clean. I brushed my teeth, dressed quickly and went out to face the only two men in the world that could make me want them and despise them at the same time.

They were still in the kitchen; Eric was watching Quinn eat a turkey sandwich with distaste. Quinn was leaning against the counter seemingly oblivious to Eric's stare. Quinn must have had a change of clothes in his truck because he was now in work-out shorts and a tight tank. I couldn't help but sit back for a moment comparing the two. Eric was pale of course, while Quinn had a dark summer tan even at Christmas. While Quinn shaved his head daily, Eric's hair was blonde and hung past his shoulders. Quinn was a good two to three inches taller, his eyes purple/brown where Eric's were blue. Eric had a muscular body, though he was not quite as large as Quinn. I realized with the two standing before me, that while both were incredibly attractive, Quinn was the one that made other men look plain.

But looks weren't the most important thing, of course! Look at what happened the night before. Who knows what kind of person Preston was, and I'd slept with him. All because he was amazingly handsome, and naked. Nope, not thinking about it.

"So, Eric what do you want to talk about?" He took a large swallow from his bottle of True Blood and glared at me. His fangs were out, not a good sign. He must be angry. I was amazed that I couldn't feel it. Perhaps I was just too worn out to feel his emotions as well as my own.

"It's time for out talk, lover."

"Fine, talk." I didn't want to do this, but I knew it had to be done. I was a master at putting things off. And this was something I'd put off for too long. But I didn't have to be happy about it.

"Alone," it was a growl. I looked at Quinn, who was looking back and forth between us. He took that as an acknowledgement that he could join the conversation.

"Eric, she needs to know about the blood bond. She just completely lost it, and I had to carry her back from the woods because of _your_ rage." I could see the anger in his mind, but he didn't show it at all in his voice, I was proud of him.

"I'm not explaining _anything_ until we're alone." Eric was adamant. I sighed.

"Fine, we'll go to the living room. Quinn, please don't leave." Eric and I walked into the living room. I sat on the couch, and to my dismay he sat down right beside me. I wasn't feeling the pull toward him as I always did.

"Are you blocking me somehow?" I blurted.

"Blocking?"

"I can't feel you." I gestured to my head, hoping he'd understand.

"If you want to feel me, all you need do is reach out, lover."

"Not that way!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "I meant your emotions. I don't feel anger or happiness, nothing from you." Eric sat for a minute, thoughtful. I was once again thankful I couldn't read vampire minds.

"I can not feel you either. Are you sure you have not done something? It could not be you blocking our bond?"

"I wouldn't know how."

"That is something to discuss later," he waved his hand, dismissing the subject. "I remember everything, as I told you. We need to discuss what that means to us."

"There _is_ no us, Eric. We had a great time while you had no memory. But even then I knew it couldn't last."

"You loved me." Eric was serious, I laughed.

"In a way. You were lost, you had no one. You didn't even know yourself. You were sweet and shy and modest! It wasn't you."

"It was me. You can not think the witches altered me as well as my memory."

"No, it was you before you became a vampire, before you were even a Viking! It was a you that has never even existed. It was a man who was still innocent and pure at heart. The way I felt at that time was a combination of lust for your body and a mothering instinct from your behavior. I was protecting a friend and got too involved."

"You are mine," His lips shook as he made his statement. "I promised myself to you, I felt things I haven not felt in my entire life. I felt _love_, Sookie. I have never loved anything or anyone but myself during my entire existence." He looked at the floor and growled. I followed his gaze and saw Tony. I scooped him up before Eric could harm him.

"This is my new cat, his name is Tony."

"He smells wild. He smells like tiger."

"Quinn said he's a toyger, and that his grandfather is a Bengal tiger. He's my pet now, you won't hurt him." He turned his glare from Tony back to me. I gulped.

"You don not want to be with me?"

"No, I'm sorry, Eric. I like you. I even love you a little bit. I'm very attracted to you. But I want more than that. I want to get married and have children. I want to cook breakfast for my husband in the morning. I want to sleep when it's dark and live my life in the sun. I can't do that with you. And I'll never let myself feel any more for you than I do. And this damn blood bond screws everything up even more. I can't tell my emotions from yours when you're near. I don't like it. I am my own woman. My head and heart belong to me and I will be the only one who decides who to give it to."

"Do you love Quinn? Will he marry you and give you children? Will he give up his work and family for you? Will he wake up beside you every morning?"

"I don't know, Eric. Your anger kind of interrupted our reunion, we haven't been able to talk about it." Eric looked unbelieving.

"It seemed like you had a pretty good reunion last night."

"Quinn wasn't here last night. He came by today when Niall was leaving."

"Niall was here? He met the tiger?"

"Yes, and he approves." It looked like Eric's thoughtful moment was over and he was back to anger.

"Of course," he muttered. In a normal voice he asked, "What did _Quinn_" he sneered his name, "mean about you 'losing it', and having to carry you back from the woods." I told him the whole story, telling him everything but the declarations Quinn and I had made before I passed out. After all, that was none of his business. And I still wasn't sure that Quinn had said anything back. And maybe I didn't say anything either! I could have just been the beginnings of a dream!

"You did not feel my rage. I felt that same rage, in fact I destroyed my office before I realized it must have come from you and I drove here to help you." We were both silent for a moment, before he said, "other than that rage, I haven't felt you at all. It's as though there is no bond."

"Is that possible?"

"I've heard of blood bonds being broken. I've never seen it happen. I've heard that only true love can break it." His eyes lit up in a very unhealthy for me way. "You love him?"

"I'm not sure. I may. In time I think I will." This was a time to be honest. Though he could not feel my lies right now, now that we talking this out, I felt he needed truth. "I missed him while he was gone. I felt my heart break every day when he wasn't here. I'm sorry but I've never felt that way with you. I've been upset with you, annoyed that you weren't around. Pissed off that we hadn't had our talk yet. But I haven't felt incomplete."

"But how else could our bond break? If you don't love him perhaps it's not broken." He seemed to ignore everything I said that he didn't want to hear. He began to pace the room. "I can't feel it at all. It's as though you've never had my blood. I couldn't find you right now if you were in danger. This is not good Sookie."

"If the blood bond is gone I'm happy." I exclaimed. "I don't want to be _tied_ to anyone. I don't feel pulled to you right now. I feel at home in my own emotions and that pleases me more than I can tell you!"

"We'll give this a few days. We must see if it's permanent or just because of your emotional state. It could even be just a magical influence. Perhaps this is Niall's doing."

"If we're done I'd really like to get a shower and go to bed, and I need to talk to Quinn before I can even do that. I'm completely worn out." Before I could stand Eric was on his knees before me.

"You don't feel drawn to me at all? I don't make your heart race?" I shook my head. Suddenly he was on me, his lips on mine, his hands tangled in my hair. The kiss was deep and passionate, but quickly it was over. He pulled back, a curious look on his face. "Did that do anything to you?"

"You're a fantastic kisser, you know that. How could you not be with a thousand plus years experience? But you seem like the same Eric you were before we ever exchanged blood. The same Eric I knew when I was dating Bill. Your touch didn't warm me this time. I didn't feel the draw I always have toward you. It felt like kissing a friend." I wanted this over, and if the blood bond was really gone, maybe we could go back to being friendly the way we were before all this happened.

"I can't feel you! I don't know if this is real or if it was real before. I've always wanted you, Sookie, long before you had my blood. But kissing you just now was no different than kissing anyone else." His voice was low, but his outrage clear. We were frozen in the same position when Quinn came into the living room. He didn't look angry. I wondered if he'd heard everything from the kitchen. Eric got up and went to sit in the chair, Quinn sat beside me on the couch.

"Did you hear everything, _tiger_?" Eric sneered.

"Not everything," Quinn replied, "but enough. I've seen a blood bond broken. Only once and I was only sixteen when it happened. I remember the vampire going on a rampage. The fighting got called off that night. The man, the human, felt the vampires rage, but he was able to feel it wasn't his emotion and separate himself from it. After it was over the vampire discovered that his love had met another man that night, and it was love at first sight. They proclaimed their love to each other within hours of meeting. The rage came. Then the bond was broken." After Quinn's speech the three of us sat in silence. I mulled it over, but I wasn't sure I loved Quinn. I would have to love him and know I loved him to break the bond, right?

"Sookie, I don't understand this. In Rhodes you saved me first. I thought then that you had made your choice. I thought your choice was me. I thought you were just dragging your feet, like you always do."

"Eric, I didn't know you thought that." I said gently. "That morning I called Quinn and told him to get his sister and himself out. Quinn has no aversion to sunlight. I knew he could get out. I also assumed he would call all the people he worked with as well. Then we set off the fire alarms. That's when I told everyone we needed to get the vamps out. I went after you then. I didn't know where anyone else's room was, except the Queen and Andre's, but Mr. Cataliades went to get the Queen, so I went to get you. Barry and I spent the day saving as many humans, shifters and vamps as we could. I'm sorry you thought it was for a reason other than it was." Eric seemed to think on that for awhile.

"Did you kill Andre?" Quinn tensed up beside me. I prayed that Eric didn't notice. I had not killed Andre, but I'd watched Quinn do it. He killed him for me. Because Andre said that I no longer had a life; that my life belonged to him and the Queen. Andre had tried to force me to blood bond with him and Eric had stopped it, but that left me having to bond with Eric instead. Quinn knew all this, knew my hate for Andre and he killed him when I could not.

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"Before, when I could feel your emotions, every time I brought Andre up I could feel your guilt and anxiety."

"I saw him on the ground. He was covered by a piece of drywall in the explosion. He was hardly hurt. I left him lying there. I thought if he were found, good. If he wasn't then I was glad. He couldn't take my life away if he wasn't alive. I was happy when I found out he was dead. That made me feel guilty, and I was a little anxious for not helping him." I'd told the truth, just omitted a lot of details. I was hopeful he would buy it.

"Did the two of you proclaim your love, tonight?" Eric changed the subject. He seemed subdued, resigned to whatever answer was given.

"Not exactly," It just felt wrong to tell him something that had been private.

"Care to explain what 'not exactly' means, _exactly_?" His face was a mask.

"That's private and my personal life is none of your business."

"Babe, as much as I hate to say this, the blood bond was between the two of you, that makes it's ending as much his business as yours." Okay, that pissed me off. I'm sure Quinn just wanted to rub it in Eric's face and that was just cruel. I couldn't believe he would do that. But he'd offered to kill Eric before to end the bond. He'd killed Andre for forcing the bond on us. Of course he was capable of cruelty. No matter who I loved, I would always have this to deal with. I couldn't be with a human man because of the mind-reading, and to be with a supernatural being I would have to come to terms with the fact that they weren't human. They would have cruelty bred into them, it wouldn't change.

"Fine, I told him I _almost_ love him, and I knew I would love him, and as I was falling asleep I think he told me he already love me. But I wasn't sure because I was passing out! That's it. That was our declaration." I didn't wait for a response from either man; instead I stood up and said. "I'm getting a shower, I'm filthy I still have mud all over me! I don't know that I can deal with either of you right now. Try to behave like adults while I'm gone. Maybe we'll finish this discussion when I'm done."

With that, I went to take a long, hot shower. I thought of making it quick. But I was too annoyed with both of them right now. So I took my time. I washed my hair twice to make sure I got all the mud and splinters out of my hair, I even took the time to shave. When I was done I didn't hurry out, instead I blow-dried my hair and made sure I looked presentable. A girl always feels better dealing with men when she's clean and pretty.

I marched from my bedroom to the kitchen, which was empty, and poured myself a glass of tea. Then, taking a deep breath, I walked down the hall into the living room. It was empty, too. _What the?_ I dropped my shields and searched for Quinn, nothing. I tried to find a void that signified a vampire, still nothing. What did they do? Leave?

Quinn's truck was still parked in front of my house; Eric's Corvette still around the side. I opened the door and yelled for them, but got no response. Now I was getting worried. I called both cell phones and neither answered. Okay, something is really wrong here. I thought about going to look for them, and then I changed my mind. They could take care of themselves a lot better than I could. Then I changed my mind again.

I ended up doing the only thing I could think of, I called Bill.

* * *

A/N: It wasn't really an in-depth talk, I tried to convey that Eric and Sookie didn't delve into their feelings as much as they should have - because the feelings were just gone! And remember, the reasons given are only a guess among the three of them!


	4. Chapter 3: The Supes

A/N: There's a lot of talking in this chapter. I seem to repeat myself a lot, too. Some parts of this chapter are pretty boring, but it seemed necessary to move the plot along at the speed I wanted.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Supes**

The minute I told Bill I needed help, he was on his way. He arrived in less than two minutes. He had to knock on the door, which made me remember why I liked rescinding invitations so much. I had a heated True Blood waiting on him, told him to have a seat. By the time he arrived I'd managed to put on jeans a red scoop neck sweater and my work boots.

"Tell me what happened, Sookie."

"They disappeared! I got a shower and when I came out they were gone! I don't know what happened."

"Why were you getting a shower with two men in your house?" I didn't need to read his mind to know it was in the gutter right now. And he wasn't happy with it being there either.

"I was all sweaty," I snapped. He raised his eyebrows. Okay, that didn't help. "I went for a run in the woods."

"You're not usually a runner."

"Oh my God, Bill! I don't want to talk about what happened! There are two men, well a weretiger and a vampire, missing from my house!"

"Where do you suggest we look for them?"

"I don't know! I thought vampires were good at tracking people! You guys always find me wherever I am." I was exasperated. How could he sit here like everything was fine, talking about missing people like he was talking about the weather?

"Sookie, we can find you because you've had our blood. Eric hasn't had mine, and neither has Quinn, so finding him is probably not going to be easy."

"Pam!" I exclaimed. I already had my hand on the phone before Bill stopped me.

"Do you think you could be overreacting, here?"

"Huh?" not the most eloquent response, but it was all I could manage.

"Darling, he's been gone less than half an hour. Do you think anyone will take you seriously?"

"_They_, William Compton, were sitting in the living room waiting for me to get back when I went in the bathroom. It seems unlikely they would have just taken off for a few minutes, leaving their vehicles, to run to the store or something!"

"Okay, I'll see if I can find their trail. Stay in the house, I'll be back in just a couple minutes." I waited, nervously drinking my tea for a good half hour. When he returned I was pacing around the kitchen.

"There is a trail leading to the woods, but it just stops. Is it likely Eric would have flown somewhere with Quinn?"

"Yeah," I snorted, "They were best friends for sure. I mean they did everything together, don't you remember?"

"Don't be sarcastic." He sat back down. We were both lost in thought for a few minutes. "Dawn is less than an hour away. I don't have time to search for them right now."

"Fine, go home. I'll take a flashlight and search the woods."

"Sookie, I smell fairy all over this place. Inside and out."

"Yeah, I invited a fairy for Christmas dinner."

"Eric was here with fairies?"

"Just one fairy! And no, Eric came after he left."

"There were definitely two fairies."

"Then one was invisible." I said sarcastically.

"What fairy did you invite, Sookie? I know Claudine and Claude's scents. It wasn't them. How many fairies do you know?" He seemed sincerely interested. _Yeah_, he was interested all right, interested in eating them.

"I only know one other fairy."

"You said it was a he."

"Yes." Maybe if I gave shorter and shorter answers he would eventually stop the inquisition?

"Sookie, talk to me. Not all fairies are nice like Claudine."

"I know."

"Could _they_ have done something to them? Fairies are very powerful. Eric, even, could be overpowered by one."

"No, he would never do that!"

"Are you dating a _fairy_ now?"

"That's none of your business! But, no I'm not." I needed to change the subject. "Bill, you said daylight was soon. You'd better get home."

"Just do me one favor."

"What?"

"Don't go searching on your own. Get some sleep first. Maybe get Sam to help you look. Just in case something really did happen."

"Fine, I'll get help first." And with that, Bill ran at full vampire speed from my house. I was so tired. I knew needed help, but Sam was still in Texas and my brain was moving at the speed of a snail. Who could I call for help? "Tray!" I exclaimed. Tray Dawson was a Were, but he didn't belong to any pack. He was also dating my roommate Amelia. He would have spent Christmas day with his son, but maybe he could help me out this morning. He answered on the third ring.

"Hi Tray, I think I need a favor."

"What's wrong Sook?"

"Quinn and Eric disappeared about two hours ago. I haven't been able to find them even though their cars are in my driveway."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Thanks, Tray."

Knowing a Were's appetite, I started cooking breakfast. Bacon, eggs and toast, usually do the trick for Dawson. I had a place set for him, plus a glass of milk and coffee ready when he came in the back door.

"Hey, I figured since I woke you up, the least I could do is make you breakfast."

"I'll eat, you talk." So I told him the streamlined version of the story, the same one I told Bill, gulping down my coffee all the while. He was thoughtful, but his brain gave me no insight on his thoughts.

"So, then Bill said he couldn't track them further than the woods, and made me promise to have help before I went looking for them." I concluded

"You trust Bill?"

"With my life," I said sincerely. He looked skeptical, but kept his thoughts to himself. Well tried to. I could clearly see he thought I was stupid for trusting Bill that much. I could also see that he could care less about Eric being gone and was only worried about Quinn. Vampires and shifters will never get along, it seems.

"First thing we have to do is call Alcide." At my questioning look, he continued, "Quinn's a shifter so we have to alert the local Weres when anything happens to a shifter in their area. Not only that, but you're a friend of the pack, that doesn't just mean that you have to help them when they need it, it means they have to help you."

"Then shouldn't we call Calvin instead?" Calvin Norris was the Pack Master of the werepanthers in Hot Shot, which wasn't too far from my house. I refused to acknowledge the 'friend of the pack' part of his speech. And I _really _didn't feel like dealing with Alcide.

"I'll call Alcide, maybe you could go ahead and call Calvin. Probably need to leave a message for someone about the vamp." I couldn't even get angry at him not calling Eric by his name.

Tray got out his phone, and I went in the other room to get mine. I hoped Calvin wasn't working. I would have felt bad asking him to miss work. Then I remembered Sam would be home this morning to open the bar at six o'clock when I had to be at work. Great, how was I supposed to work after this?

"'Ello?" Calvin answered his home phone himself.

"Calvin, this is Sookie Stackhouse, I wonder if I could get your help for something."

"What do you need?" That made me smile. I was so glad to have _someone_ who wouldn't just jump because I crooked my finger. Not that I would, of course.

"There's a long story involved, but the simple version is: Quinn and Eric are missing. Their vehicles are here, so I don't know what could have happened."

"Quinn's missing?"

"Yup, Dawson's on the phone with Alcide right now, trying to get his help, too. I have to leave a message with Pam about Eric, I guess."

"It'll take me at least an hour to get there. I just woke up." We said our good-byes and hung up. I hesitated before calling Pam's cell phone, as Eric's second in command, she would surely want to know. But with Bill's opinion I was afraid she would think I was over reacting.

"Pam, this is Sookie, Eric came to visit me last night. Quinn was here as well. They both just kind of disappeared on me. Bill thought I might be overreacting and told me not to call you this soon, but I really am worried. Call me when you get this message." I was proud of myself for that call. I kept my senses, and didn't give to much information.

Tray was still sitting at the kitchen table when I returned. It was amazing the calming influence he had on me. I should be freaking out right now. But with him sitting there drinking his coffee looking relaxed and at ease, I could feel my tension dropping by the second.

"Alcide's on his way. You think you should call Sam?"

"Sam is in Texas visiting his family for Christmas, he won't be home till late morning or early afternoon."

"He has a cell phone."

"Yeah, but I don't want to stress him out before he even gets home."

"He'll be upset if you don't let him know. If he walks in on a situation he's not going to be a happy man."

"Fine," I grumbled. I did as he said, and like I figured, I had to leave a message.

"When's the last time you slept?" Until he said that, I had forgotten how tired I was.

"A while ago."

"Take a nap. We can't do anything until everyone gets here." Right then, that sounded like a great idea. Telling Tray to make himself at home, I walked into my bedroom. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

It was Sam that woke me up. I was glad because out of everyone else that was there, I wouldn't want any of them in my room while I slept. Not one of them would hurt me, of course. It would have just been weird.

"Hey, Sam" I smiled drowsily while sitting up and wrapping my arms around him. I could hear what sounded like a herd of elephants running around my house. "God, who alls here?" I asked as I pulled back from him.

"I think everyone you know." He smiled at me, but he looked worried. "There's Tray, of course you know he's here, Alcide and he brought a couple trackers with him, Calvin came alone, Bill's here. Pam and Clancy are on their way." It was only then that I realized it was dark.

"Tray said he would wake me up when Alcide got here!" I began to panic. "The longer they're missing, the harder it will be to find them. What if they're hurt?"

"Tray said you needed sleep, that you'd been looking for them all night. He stood outside your door and wouldn't let anyone to disturb you until I got here." He lowered his voice, "Alcide's pissed, he wanted to wake you up and Dawson wouldn't let him." He smiled.

"You men and your pissing matches." I wasn't mad though. I got out of bed and practically ran to the bathroom. I used the toilet and brushed my teeth, still trying to think of why Quinn and Eric would have just disappeared out of nowhere.

I was still half asleep when I walked into the kitchen to get coffee. The entire group followed me. I nearly moaned when the caffeine hit me. After a few sips, I felt ready to talk again.

"So what are we gonna do to find them?" I asked the room at large. Everyone stared around at each other, looking for someone to be the spokesperson, I guessed. Finally Alcide spoke up.

"We need to know what was going on before they went missing."

"When will Pam be here?" I asked Sam.

"We're here," Pam came running through the back door, scaring the crap out of everyone. "You'll need to invite Clancy in, though," she smirked.

"Clancy, you can come in." Pam and Clancy went to stand with Bill. I realized my manners and I asked everyone if they wanted something to drink. Everyone declined, except the vampires. Once everyone was settled, I repeated the story I'd told Bill and Tray.

"You're not telling everything." Pam concluded. I was shocked, of course that was everything. It must have shown on my face because Pam continued. "Why did you just decide to go for a run in the woods?"

"I'd prefer not to discuss that."

"It might be important." Pam said.

"Trust me, it's not."

"I smelled two fairies, Sookie, I think knowing who they were is important to finding Eric and Quinn." Bill said, acting all high and mighty.

"For the last time, there was only _one _fairy here, Bill. And I'm not allowed to tell anyone anything about him."

"Sookie," Sam said, I turned to look at him. "Was it the one I met at the bar?"

"Yes, and you know he wouldn't have done anything to Eric or Quinn. In fact he knew both of them! And liked them both."

"Eric liked by a fairy," Pam's voice was full of scorn.

"Yes, Pam, Eric was the one who introduced me to him!" I snapped at her. Her eyes went wide.

"There is only one fairy that Eric spoke to. Why would he have introduces _you_ to him?" Great, I thought, how was I supposed to answer that? Niall said he didn't want anyone to know about our relationship. How could I do this without lying, yet without betraying anyone?

"Okay, everyone here knows I'm part fairy right?" Calvin, Alcide and the two trackers looked shocked. Oops. Oh well, too late to back out now. "The fairy that was here is a family member that I recently met." I looked at Alcide. "Do you remember me telling you about meeting a family member for a dinner that Eric took me to?"

"I thought you were seeing Eric and lying to me about it."

"Of course you would," I muttered, "That was the night I met him." I looked around at everyone. "Now back to the important stuff. Quinn and Eric are missing. How are we going to find them?"

"There is still the matter of the other fairy." Bill said quietly. No one moved.

"There was no other fairy!" I lost it at that point and said more than I'd ever wanted to. "There was a Were here on Christmas Eve that spent the night. When I woke up on Christmas morning he was gone. A _Were_ not a fairy." I looked around at all the men who I'd dated or considered dating, Bill, Sam, Alcide and Calvin; their faces wore identical masks of shock. Pam however looked amused. I was humiliated. I had just told a roomful of people that a Were had spent the night. Then with Quinn and Eric both being here the same day, and a fairy Bill kept saying. _Wow, I just made myself look really bad._ I felt my face heat up and decided to ignore it.

"You're dating another _Were_ now, Sookie?" Bill spat.

"No, I'm not. He was hurt in the woods! And who I date, or sleep with is none of your business, Bill Compton." I looked around at everyone else, "It's no one elses business either." It wasn't until I said that, that I realized I had actually admitted to sleeping with the Were. A second before they all thought I had, but now they knew. My humiliation hit a new level.

"I do smell a Were I don't recognize, now that it's been mentioned." Alcide said. His face was filled with disgust. I could plainly see that he thought I was turning into a slut. It did not make me happy.

"Arrrgghh" I screamed. That was when Tony the kitten decided to make an appearance. I bent down to pick him up. Nuzzling his neck, I could smell that wild smell I identified with Quinn, and I immediately began to relax. However, everyone took notice and shared looks of confusion.

"This was my Christmas present from Quinn," I told the room at large, "His name's Tony, he's a toyger." I loved on Tony for a couple more minutes and got back to business.

"Okay, so has anyone started looking for Quinn and Eric? Pam shouldn't you be able to find Eric easily because of the whole child/sire thing?" I asked.

"Usually I could. But for some reason he's cut off from me."

"What? Does that mean he's dead?" Wouldn't I have felt that? I guess not if the blood bond was gone.

"Did you feel him die?" she asked sarcastically. "You would know as well as I." She thought for a second, "It's like there is a barrier between his mind and mine. You and I would feel it if he died. So wherever he is, he is okay. Did he happen to walk in on something between you and the tiger?"

"No. Actually Quinn was carrying me from the woods when I saw Eric, he was waiting on the porch. They had an argument, but agreed to play nice while I showered. Uh, Pam, Eric and I no longer have a blood bond, we think."

"Are you in love with the tiger, or the wolf?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Pam! That's what we were talking about right before they disappeared."

"Eric believed the blood bond was gone?" Pam seemed anxious.

"Yeah, we couldn't feel each other at all. He didn't seem as human as he once did, either."

"What about Bill?" Pam asked. I had to think that over. I looked hard at Bill. I didn't feel the familiar ache over how he'd treated me. He didn't seem cold like Eric, just distant."

"My heart isn't broken anymore, I don't feel him." I said.

"Bill, can you feel her?" It was Bill's turn to scrutinize me. Everyone in the room was leaning forward taking in as much of it as they could. It reminded me of the time Alcide had abjured Debbie Pelt. Everyone wore expressions of shock and awe.

"I feel as though I've known her for a long time. There is affection, but not love. I don't know what she feels at all."

"I guess we know why Eric trashed his office last night." Clancy laughed while everyone stared at him as though he'd lost his mind.

"Sookie, dear," Pam started, "It seems as though you have finally made a choice. I think everyone here would like to know which choice that was."

"I didn't make a choice! It just happened out of nowhere. How is that a choice?" Pam just smiled wickedly.

"Okay, this is getting us nowhere." Alcide cut in. "Emilio, Sid see what you can find. One of you sniff out the truck, the other the car." Everyone else divvied up duties and soon, I was alone with Pam.

"Sookie," she started "Eric could feel you're, uh, enjoyment on Christmas Eve. It was actually quite hard to keep him inside Fangtasia. When he felt your enjoyment again yesterday, he flew off the handle. The blood bond ending could have upset him so that he needed to distance himself from you. Perhaps it's an experiment. He may want to make sure it's not a temporary thing." She finished in a softer tone than she started.

"Well great!" I said sarcastically. "So, what am I supposed to be doing to find the two?"

"You are the middleman, my friend. Everyone will check in by calling you. You might want food ready. I've heard men, especially shifters, get really hungry after physical activity."

"Why can't I be out looking? I can't just sit here."

"Cook! I have to get back to Fangtasia, we can't let on that Eric is missing. I'll take Eric's car and drive it to his house." With that Pam was walking back out the door.

I figured Pam was probably right, and started getting bacon cheeseburgers ready for when the guys returned. By the time I was done there were three pitchers of sweat tea, enough cheeseburgers for everyone to have three, I thought about it and got out all the potato chips I had, too. I was interrupted every ten minutes at least, but there was never really any news.

It was two in the morning before everyone came back, looking like they'd been through a war. Bill however, wasn't with them. Everyone sat down to eat, hardly talking. I gave Clancy a bottle of synthetic blood.

"There was definitely fairy in those woods," Clancy said in between drinks.

"There was at least one Were though for sure," Sid said around a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"Do you think I should call Frannie?" I asked. It had been on my mind. Although I didn't want her angry with me, she would want to know her brother was missing. He could even be missing work right now. There were probably a lot of people missing him even in the short amount of time he'd been gone.

"That might be wise," Calvin said. "And I need to tell you, just as a precaution: Jason knows of the difficulty you're having." He saw me start to get angry, "Now, now, you know he's part of my pack now. He had to be told. Everyone is on the lookout for Quinn."

"I don't want Jason here," in fact Amelia had added Jason to the house wards. He couldn't step foot in the place without a direct invitation. The house would treat him as though he were a vampire.

"I've told him not to come here, if he disobeys my direct order, he'll have me to deal with."

"I don't want my brother hurt," then I thought about Calvin's poor hand and changed my mind. "Actually, if he comes here will you break his fingers like I had to break yours?"

"You broke Calvin's fingers?" Alcide decided to join the conversation. I'd forgotten that everyone else was in the room. Sam had his arm around me and was rubbing my shoulder, seeing how tense I was, but everyone else was still eating.

"It was a necessary ritual, Alcide," Calvin said. He nodded like he understood, but still looked confused. Then Calvin looked at me, "If that's what you'd like, that's what will be his punishment should he come here against a direct order.

It was an omen, I think, because an hour later, after all the dishes had been cleared and everyone had gone back to business, a body hit the back door and flew off. In a room full of weres (and one vampire) I could tell I was in no danger. I saw Calvin open the door, looking at me while he did. Jason was trying his hardest to get past the wards; he just kept getting knocked backwards.

"Jason, you're not welcome here. Go home." I told him - in a reasonable tone, I might add.

"Aw, Sook, come on! I'm your brother, and you're in trouble let me help you."

"Your kind of help always backfires, Jason. And you were the one that told two fighting packs they could come her on my land to talk! You didn't care about hurting me too much then! Why do you care now? And Calvin told you not to come here. Are you too stupid to realize that Calvin is your leader now, and you have to do what he says?" Jason stuttered around for a few seconds but I interrupted. "I've asked Calvin to break your fingers as you made me do to him for disobeying. If you don't leave now, he'll do it. I looked at Calvin making sure he understood that I'd meant what I said. And I walked into the living room.

Sam followed me, he looked worried. I thought I might be in shock. I didn't care that my friend might be breaking my brother's hand outside. I even asked him to do it. I knew I should be worrying more about Quinn and Eric, but for some reason I wasn't too panicked. I wanted to help, but I was at a loss. I sat on the couch with Tony. I realized that Bill still wasn't back.

"Sam, has anyone heard from Bill?"

"Let me ask." I sat by myself in the living room for a good ten minutes before Sam came back in. This time he was followed by Alcide, Dawson, Clancy and Calvin. Calvin nodded to me, I gave him a half-assed smile. I didn't know if he was telling me that Jason was gone or that he broke his hand, or what. But, I decided I didn't care and I just wouldn't worry about it. If Jason was hurt or not, I didn't want to know.

"Bill seems to be MIA," Sam told me, face void of any emotion. I could hear his thoughts though, and he wasn't worried. He thought Bill was just mad at me for adding yet another man to my bed before him. Unfortunately Sam thought the same thing. But he was willing to be here for me anyway. "I'm going to check his house. Maybe you should keep calling him, Sook."

Alcide sat beside me and put his arm around me. "You and Quinn are back together, huh?" I could tell her wasn't happy about that. He wondered what Quinn thought of me sleeping with a were one day and him the next. I was lucky I was used to keeping my thoughts to myself.

"I don't know," I told him with a wan smile. "We were just spending time together. We hadn't talked about it yet."

"Tell me about this Were that spent the night with you." His voice showed no emotion, but just like Sam I could make out his thoughts well enough to know he was jealous, a little angry, and sincerely interested in finding out about this guy.

"His name is Preston Pardloe. His pack was supposed to have negotiations with another pack. He told me Jason gave them permission to use my land because they needed neutral ground. Preston's pack left him for some kind of offense, the daughter of the other pack wanted him and he turned her down, so they left him. He was hurt in the woods when I found him. He was naked and cold. I helped him to the house, he got a shower, had some soup. He healed so fast I didn't believe he was a Were for a minute, but he shifted, just his arm, and said his family was talented and had the ability to change quickly. There was no malice in his mind." I finally looked up. This was the part I didn't want to tell anyone. "After awhile there was a knock on the door. He said it was someone from the other pack. I hid him. I answered the door with my shotgun aimed at the guy, he searched the house and didn't find him. There was another guy that was searching around the house, too. I told them he called someone to pick him up. And they left."

"And how, exactly, did you end up in bed with him." My mouth dropped open in shock at Alcide's question. Calvin stood up for me, though.

"Alcide, perhaps we should leave Sookie's personal life alone. No one here has room to talk. What we should be finding out is who this guy really is. I don't think that Jason said he didn't tell any weres they could come here, and I don't think he would even know any weres that weren't connected to our pack." I tried to remember exactly what Preston had said about the panther that told his pack they could use our land. The details were foggy. I only remembered being sure it was Jason.

"No Bill," Sam announced, walking into the room.

I picked up the phone again, this time calling Pam. I explained the newest Bill situation to her, but just like Bill had been when Eric was missing, she wasn't too worried. Then I had to make the call I was dreading. I called Frannie. I'd woken her up, of course, she was human, and she wouldn't be up all night like all the Supes I knew. I'd tried to talk her out of it, but in the end I had to agree to let her come join the search. He was her brother after all. She took it a lot better than I thought she would. Of course she was frantic about Quinn, plainly said she hoped that Quinn had killed Eric and was now just hiding from me, afraid I would hate him for it. Clancy growled at that, the shifters looked a little pleased. You couldn't have a private conversation with Supes around.

"Frannie will be here in less than six hours. Do you think it's possible one of them would have killed the other?" I knew as I said that last bit my voice sounded small and miserable. I didn't really think they would have though.

"Yeah," Clancy scoffed, "Eric would never kill the shifter because you'd never forgive him. And there's no way a shifter could kill a vampire."

"You wanna bet?" Alcide was ready to prove Clancy wrong.

"Anyway," I started loudly. "Since a vampire and a shifter went missing _together,_ maybe the vampires and shifters should work together to find them as well. You can go back to hating each other after it's over."

With that everyone settled down and started another planning session. My mind went back to Preston. Why had I slept with a stranger? I felt horrible. I must have dozed off because the next thing I remembered was Sam shaking me.

"Everyone left. Go take a nap. I'll stay here with you."

"Oh my God, Sam! We didn't go to work."

"I didn't open the bar. People will deal with it. You're more important." I could feel his emotions clearly and he definitely meant what he said. He was disgruntled though, that I hadn't turned to him when I was finally available. His mind was a swirling mess right now.

"I'll work today, Sam. We have to keep the bar open. Hell, I worked through Jason being missing; I can work through this, too. Go on home, Sam, I'm fine by myself."

"If you're sure," after a few minutes I was alone in the house. I was exhausted. I didn't even bother to shower before falling asleep.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter will be rated 'M', I wanted to let you know ahead of time! I remembered Sid and Emilio, the trackers in Dead to the World, I had thought one of them died in From Dead to Worse, but since I couldn't find it, I used them both anyway. If anyone knows that one of them did die, for sure, please let me know, and where that would be in the book. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4: The Dream Lover

**Chapter 4: The Dream Lover**

I was wandering through the woods. I felt someone calling me. It wasn't verbal, but a tug on my mind, on my heart. There were no thoughts of any man that had ever been in my life. I wasn't worried, or scared. I was completely at peace. I knew that wherever I was going, I was going to find my love, my one and only. I would find the only man who would ever love me completely.

I tripped over a branch, and looked down to notice my feet were bare. Why was I in a nightgown? Actually, I didn't own any nightgowns like this. It was ankle length, with a baby doll cut, made of a thin cottony material that flowed around me as I walked. And the weirdest part of it was that I was _glowing_. Not glowing like I did after having vampire blood. But like there was a bright light in my chest and it flowed out of me. It didn't alarm me, though it should have.

I realized it was full dark, I could see the waxing moon almost directly overhead, it was very late. Even in the almost-dark, I could see perfectly. I didn't know how it was possible, especially with the trees creating a tall canopy above me. My feet moved automatically to where I was called. It was such a strong force that I couldn't resist, and worse, I didn't want to.

After a few more minutes I came to a clearing. The grass looked black in the moonlight, a slight breeze making the taller grass sway. I saw a large blanket exactly in the center; I knew that was where I should be. I walked to it, not even looking around me. There were animals in these woods, dangerous ones, feral hogs, wolves; there were even rumors about wild cats. But, somehow I felt safe, and knew I was protected here.

I lay down on the blanket, staring at the stars. The night was beautiful, every star in the sky visible. I waited. I knew he would be here soon. I didn't know who _he_ was. But I knew, beyond all doubt that he wouldn't leave me waiting long.

A light was coming through the trees toward me. I propped myself up on my elbows to watch his approach. He was an incredible vision. He walked toward me slowly, glowing ten times brighter than me, almost bright enough to hurt my eyes. I couldn't see his face yet, the light was blocking it. But, _boy_ could I see his body. He was completely nude. He was darkly tanned, with wide, strong shoulders, tapering to narrow hips, thick muscled arms and legs. And he was really, _really_ happy to see me. The sight of his engorgement made me gasp.

It wasn't until he was at the edge of the blanket that I could see his face. His hair was dark brown, he had wide, tawny eyes, a nose that belonged on statues of the Greek gods. His mouth was wide and proud. It was Preston Pardloe. I didn't move as he went to his knees beside me. My breath caught has he reached out a hand to touch my face.

It felt like my skin was on fire. His hand brushing my face sent a thrill through my entire body. My arms couldn't hold me up anymore, and I started to lie back down. But Preston was too fast and had his arm around my shoulder easing me to the blanket, before I had even moved. He reached in to kiss me, a soft gentle kiss. There was electric running between our lips. I felt my lips open for him on their own accord. I had no thoughts, no reservations, not a single objection to his lips on mine.

He leaned back from me and my body ached from the lack of contact. I knew this man loved me; this is who was calling for me. He could reach my very soul with his thoughts. As he slowly lifted my nightgown from my body, I realized I wore no underwear and was completely nude before him. It didn't embarrass me. It should have, I tried to think on that, but he stopped my thoughts by putting a hand on either side of my waist. I tried to reach for him, but he stopped me.

"Be still," he whispered. So I was, I could deny him nothing. He spread my legs apart and kneeled between them, continuing to caress my body with his hands. First was my sides, and onto my hips, each stroke of his hands on my body sent a thrill straight through me. I could feel myself opening for him. My body was yearning for him, while my mind was shut off.

_Wait!_ This isn't right. I told myself. But I immediately forgot what wasn't right when he lay on top of me. I felt his tip press against my opening and I closed my eyes, waiting for the bliss I knew he would bring me.

"Sookie!" I opened my eyes to the bright sunshine, to find I was lying in my own bed, and Frannie was standing over me. "I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes, Sookie!"

"Coffee," I muttered, my eyes barely open. I stumbled from the bed, my dream already starting to recede to the back of my mind. I tried to catch it, but all I could hold onto was the lack of control. Something had completely taken over my mind. Making me want things I'd never have thought about. Thank God it was a dream.

My first cup of coffee gone, I finally looked at Frannie. She was hovering, it made me uncomfortable. The last time I'd seen her wasn't exactly the friendliest of circumstances. Bill put her under mind control, but she was able to snap out of it. She completely lost it and started screaming. Quinn broke down the door to get to her. Then she and her mother had come to visit. Frannie was crying me asking why I didn't love her brother. Her mother wanted to kill me. I mentally shook those thoughts away.

"So, Frannie, how have things been?"

"Until Quinn went missing, we were about back to normal. He was a little depressed. They called last week about the cat being ready. Quinn had to meet them at the airport. He was so excited about it. He didn't know if you would take it, but he was glad to finally have an excuse to see you."

"I love him. We named him Tony." I noticed she caught the 'we' there, I pushed on before she could comment. "He's a very calming influence on me. There's something almost magical about him. All I have to do is smell him and I feel a hundred times better." I saw her smile and knew what she was going to say a second before she said it.

"It's because they share a similar smell, especially when my brother is in animal form." In her mind she had us walking down the isle, she was guessing what our children would look like. I clamped my shields in place, wow, someone was moving a little fast!

"I have to work today; do you want to go in to work with me?" She raised her eyebrows. "Please don't think I'm callous. No one will let me help in the search, everyone is out looking and they're leaving me on phone duty. I feel helpless yet I know they have a point. They move a lot faster than me; they can get a lot more ground covered without my interference. I don't like it, but I know it's necessary. By going to work, I'll have something to occupy my mind, so I'm not sitting here crying all night."

"I can see why he likes you." She smiled sadly at me. "He's told me over and over that you weren't like most women, he said you were strong, independent and didn't need a man to take care of you. That's good. I can't stand women who sit around waiting for a knight in shining armor. I know Quinn likes to be that knight, and does it well, but I don't like the thought of someone using him for that."

"Frannie, can you keep a secret?" I evaluated her, even dropped my shields just a little, to make sure she wasn't lying when she said she could. "If you were being tortured, could you still keep it?" She said she could. I felt no deceit in her, and I was a little more at ease. "I'm going to tell you everything. There is no one who knows the whole story. I hadn't even gotten to talk to Quinn about it." I started with Preston wounded in the woods and ended with getting out of the shower and being totally alone.

"I know that Andre killed Quinn. That doesn't matter to me. He loves you and that vampire was going to take your life away. He deserved to die. You need to face that you love Quinn, though, Sookie. You broke his heart, but he came back to you. The least you can do is be honest with him about your feelings." She was thoughtful for a minute; I could see thoughts whirling so fast in her mind, I was almost dizzy. I put those damn shields back up. "That you're part fairy makes a lot of sense. Quinn never told me that. Did he know?" I nodded. "Fairies get into a lot of trouble, which you seem to do. Vampires get obsessed with them, that seems to be true too."

"Yeah, but it seems that changed after this bond was broken. I don't know what the anger was about when the bond broke. I don't understand much of it. I just really want to find Quinn. And Eric, too. I hope he and I will continue to be friends after all this.

"I've been around the supernatural a lot longer than you, Sookie, once a vampire lays claim to you; it's unlikely you can get free. It seems you have, which is unusual, but I doubt you'll still be friends. There is still a lot that you don't know about our world. For instance, I'm sure you know I'm not a were because I'm not the oldest born to a full bred couple." I nodded again. "But I'll bet you don't know that I have a lot of extra senses, not as strong as a were, but I could sniff Quinn out, I can hear nearly as good as a were, I'm a little faster than humans and a little stronger."

"So, you think we might be able to find something all the boys missed?"

"I want you to take me where you ran last night. This time wear boots though!" She laughed. This Frannie was a lot nicer than the Frannie I'd met before. I decided to call her on it before I went out in the woods alone with her.

"Frannie, I thought you didn't like me. What's with the change of heart?" She smiled a surprisingly gentle smile.

"Quinn loves you. You make him happy. He hasn't been happy in a long time. Our fucked up mother has made sure his life was miserable. I've been doing all I can the past few months to make sure I'm not a burden anymore. I want him to have a life, he wants you in it. If you break his heart again, though, I don't care if a fairy prince is your great grandfather, I'll make your life miserable." She was completely serious when she said this. It made me like her a lot more.

I got changed again. Brushed my teeth, put my hair in a ponytail and was ready to go in less than five minutes. We began our walk in silence. A short way into the woods, I stopped. Everything looked the same to me.

"Uh, Frannie, I don't know where I went from her." She sniffed around a little, on her hands and knees. It seemed odd. I'd seen others do it, but with her clear human thoughts, it didn't seem right that she was down on the ground like a were. We walked for a couple hours; occasionally she would stop, drop to her knees and sniff around a little more. We didn't talk much. Finally, she stopped.

"The trail ends here." There was a haze over the area. I smelled magic.

"Do you smell that?" I asked her.

"I just smell the woods."

"No, there's magic in the air." I walked toward the haze. "Do you see this?" I asked right before I hit what felt like a brick wall. I tottered a minute, Frannie grabbed my arm to keep me from falling.

"What is it, Sookie? What's wrong?" I put my hand against the vapor, it wouldn't go through. I kept my hand on the invisible wall and walked in a huge circle.

"Do you feel this?" I asked her. She followed me, as I continued around the circle, her hands pressed against the invisible wall as well.

"Witchcraft," she mumbled. "I've never seen a circle of power; this has to be what it is." Her voice was filled with awe.

"My roommates are witches. When they get back from New Orleans we'll have to have them look at this."

"But this is where you stopped running?" I nodded. "Did you feel the magic then?"

"No, I just couldn't move anymore, I had a cramp in my side. After I'd calmed down I realized I couldn't see, but Quinn could see me."

"Did you smell it?" I had to think about it. I didn't recall smelling anything.

"I didn't smell anything, until Quinn picked me up. I could smell him then. But I don't have an extra sensitive sense of smell. I can't smell the woods like you can. To me, mud doesn't have a scent, and a tree only smells if my nose is pressed up against it."

"What time do you have to be at work?" That was certainly a subject changer.

"Four."

"Shit," she exclaimed, "you're going to be late." I looked at my watch and it was two o'clock. "Quinn said it only took you an hour to run this far?"

"Yeah, I don't know how, I've never been a runner. That was definitely the furthest I've ever run."

"Let's try running." She stayed a little head of me, leading the way, I was lost. After a few minutes, I wasn't out of breath and I tried to pick up the pace. To my amazement I was flying through the woods. Not quite the speed I had on Christmas, but fast, and I wasn't out of breath. My body didn't start aching until we'd been running an hour. I alerted Frannie and we slowed to a jog. I noticed she looked a lot worse than I felt. She was gasping for breath, her face was red and her upper lip was covered in sweat. I just felt pleasantly warm.

"I think you've been holding out on us." She gasped.

"I didn't know I could run like that. I'm as amazed as you are." She looked skeptical. "I promise, I'm not lying to you. I don't lie unless I have to. And if there's something I can't tell you, I'll usually tell you I can't tell you, I won't outright lie if I can help it. I'm a terrible liar." She looked appeased. In a very short time we were in my yard. There were four cars in my driveway that weren't there when we left. "uh oh," I said.

"What, you have to check in with the entire supernatural community before you can go for a run?" Well _that_ put it in perspective.

"With your brother and two vampires missing from my house, I'm sure a lot of people are worried about me. I mean if Quinn can be overpowered by something or someone, you and I certainly don't stand a chance."

"You have a point. Maybe we should have told someone where we were going." She grinned at me, "but since they're your friends, you should have thought of it." I stuck my tongue out at her, we both laughed. I had another revelation, right then. I liked Frannie. She seemed to like me just as much. Who would have thought? I was amazed with this newfound friend.

Before we made it to the back door, someone ran out of my house faster than I thought possible, grabbing me in a tight hug. Sam's voice was saying "thank God" over and over. Frannie looked amused.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to pull away from him.

"We thought something had happened to you. We saw Frannie's car here, her bag was sitting in the living room, both doors were unlocked, we thought whatever got ahold of Quinn must have gotten you two." Sam also thought maybe Frannie had killed me because of her brother. I laughed.

"Everyone meet Frannie, Quinn's sister. This is Sam, Alcide, Sid, Calvin and Tray." I pointed to each one for her. It was almost humorous to watch her expression change from 'friend having fun' to 'business woman'.

"Has anyone found out anything about my brother?" she asked the room at large.

"Nothing, we were meeting back here, cause Sookie said you wanted to be part of the search, we thought we'd start again." Calvin said.

"Sam, are we working tonight?" I asked him.

"Yeah, if you're up to it."

"Guys, Frannie and I found something in the woods we think may have something to do with the missing guys." That got everyone's attention.

"A circle of power," Frannie chimed in.

"It was like hitting a wall," I said. "But we could smell the magic," okay, _Frannie_ couldn't, but I felt like I needed an accomplice in this. "It was hazy, we could see through it, but it felt like a circular wall had been built and covered with magic."

"Amelia will be back in the morning," Tray said, I discovered he was really excited about it. It made me smile, I was happy for them. Now if I could just find my ex-boyfriends, maybe I could be happy too.

"You don't think she was the one that did that out in the woods do you?" I asked Tray.

"I doubt it. Have you ever tried to get that woman to go in the woods?" He smiled again, "but she is real secretive about her magic. She really only talks to Octavia about it."

"Well, I need a shower. Frannie, you can use the other shower if you need it." Of course she needed it. She was covered in mud from her knees down and from her elbows to her fingertips. I showered again. I wondered at the number of showers I'd had lately. It was really getting ridiculous.

Sam and I went to work, leaving everyone at my house. They told me Pam and Clancy would be back after dark. Everyone was starting to get really worried. Bill's disappearance really didn't seem to bother anyone, which was odd. More odd was that it wasn't bothering me too much either. My emotions felt muted to me. I was able to laugh and joke around as I normally would. But the grief, worry and anxiety I felt for all three missing was dulled.

"Sam, I just thought of something. Bill was the first person I ever slept with, Eric the second and Quinn the third. Other than the fluke one-night stand, every man I've slept with is missing." At this time we were parked behind Merlotte's.

"It's a good thing you've been so selective about your bedroom partners, isn't it? Imagine if you were the town whore, everyone would be disappearing!" Sam joked. He was trying to make light, but I think even he sometimes forgot about my telepathy. I could tell he was worried about me more than anything, he thought I wasn't taking it as hard as I should be. He was pretty worried about Quinn, too. And was just fine with Eric and Bill being missing. I guess shifters and vampires will never get along.

Work was a relief that night. The bar having been closed for three days, it was pretty crowded. I was working with Arlene unfortunately, but my shields were in place and not one negative thought came my way. Everything was normal. I relaxed into my work, my home away from home. For a few precious hours, I completely forgot about my missing boyfriends, or uh, ex-boyfriends. I forgot about the search party gathered at my house. I forgot everyone's disapproval of my ability and my vampire association.

I was delivering beer and chicken strips to Catfish Hennesey when I realized, something wasn't right. I shouldn't be this happy right now. I looked at Sam, he was staring at me, his nostrils flaring a bit. I rushed back to him.

"What's wrong Sam?"

"You, Sookie" I nearly cried. What had I done? "No, no, you didn't do anything," he put his arm around me, I didn't stop him even though we were in a crowded bar where anyone could see. "You smell like fairy, Sook."

"Well, Sam, you know I'm part fairy," I tried to smile at him. He shook his head.

"You're smell is just as strong as Claudine's." That threw me for a loop. But there were a group of men at one of my tables yelling for another pitcher, and I had work to do. I put Sam's observation out of my mind, which was surprisingly easy, and went back to being cheerful to everyone around. It seemed as though no one had noticed my momentary depression.

Around midnight, Pam walked in the bar. Her nostrils immediately flared and she came straight to me.

"Sookie, you smell absolutely delightful." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Uh, thanks, I guess. What can I do for you, Pam?" Her eyes opened. _Oh shit!_ Her pupils were dilated. "Pam, go sit at the bar with Sam." I looked up and caught Sam's eye. He ran over, immediately catching the problem. I couldn't run away, it would only excite her. Vampires were intoxicated by fairies. I don't know why the smell was so strong on me now, but we needed to calm Pam down before the bar patrons caught on.

"Pam, come with me." Sam handed her a True Blood, and nearly dragged her to the bar. Crisis averted. Momentarily. I worked for two more hours, Pam seemed to hardly take her eyes off of me. I wasn't the only one who noticed. I caught a few people wondering if I had started sleeping with women, and unfortunately I caught a few visuals. Arlene was in a complete huff. Her FotS buddies were not in the bar, thank goodness.

After everyone was gone, Pam finally approached me. Sam followed close behind her. Her eyes seemed back to normal. It seemed like she might be breathing with her mouth instead of her nose. Vampires only had to breathe for the air to talk or for smell.

"I think I'm under control now, Sookie. Who have you been around for fairy scent to be so strong?"

"No one. I've been here all night. Sam's been watching me." I glared at Sam. "Waiting for me to have a complete breakdown when the last few days events have caught up with me."

"You're not acting like yourself!" Sam exclaimed.

"You're acting detached, Sookie. The shifter is right, that's not like you." I let out a long exasperated sigh and sat on a bar stool.

"I'm exhausted! Maybe if I finally get a good night's sleep I'll be _acting like myself _again." I put my head down on the bar. "Do we know anything about Quinn?" I asked, "Or Eric or Bill?"

"They found the magic circle you and Frannie found. No one was able to break the circle. Tray said Amelia and Octavia would be home tomorrow. Hopefully they can breach it. It does seem odd that your and Quinn's trail ended there. I was told it was a good three hours walk."

"I ran. I got there in a little over an hour." Pam's eyebrows went up.

"That path ended more than halfway to Shreveport." Pam sounded skeptical, and Sam's breath caught. For some reason it didn't shock me.

"Frannie and I walked to it in about three hours, but we ran back in about an hour and a half."

"Frannie is half shifter," Sam said. "That's possible for her. You're human, you shouldn't be able to do that." Why did this conversation have no interest for me?

"Oh well, I did. Do we know anything else?" Sam and Pam glanced at each other.

"I'm taking you home, Sookie. You're sleeping at least eight hours. I'll make sure no one wakes you up."

Pam took off running as Sam and I climbed in his truck. The drive to my house was short and neither of us said a word the whole way there. There seemed to be quite a bit of activity going on at my house. There were at least a dozen extra cars there.

"Sam, what's going on?"

"Let's find out." We went through the front door, which was unusual, but that was where we had to park. Pam was already there, Clancy, Felicia and a couple other vampires I'd never seen were also in the kitchen. There were also a couple guys from Hot Shot. When I walked in people moved to make a path for me. I saw Amelia sitting at the kitchen table. She had her head down looking in her tea.

"Amelia!" I exclaimed. She hadn't realized I was there. She jumped up to hug me. "Did you have a good time with your dad?" I asked her. She looked around the _way_ overcrowded kitchen.

"Let's talk about that later. We were told that you are to sleep and no one is allowed to interrupt. So go! No more talking." I tried to tell everyone I was fine and I wanted to stay and talk, but no one was budging. I felt like a _freaking child_. I went into my room cursing everyone in the house. With all my huffing and puffing, I was asleep in minutes.

I was walking through the woods again, barefoot, and in the same nightgown. Once again the path was bright, the light coming from my chest causing me to glow. The night was beautiful. It didn't feel like the middle of winter, it felt like early summer. I knew I was safe in these woods. My love was out there, and he was calling me. I moved quicker through the woods than I had before. I was at the clearing in minutes. The blanket was in the same place. I lay down; I knew that's what I was supposed to do. I knew I should do exactly as he wanted. The more I pleased him, the more he would please me.

I saw the light coming through the woods. I knew Preston was coming. I began to get excited knowing what would happen. He was nude just like before. I could see his face clearly this time. He wore a soft smile. I could again see the pleasure he felt looking at me. I took my nightgown off at his silent command. His kiss was as warm as I'd ever felt. He gently opened my lips with his, his hand traveling over my breasts. I let out a small moan. His mouth left mine, went to my neck, the length of my collarbone, and stopped on my nipple. He sucked it into his mouth, my back arched with pleasure.

His hand roamed between my legs, lightly teasing my lips. The tip of his finger brushed against my clit, I gasped. He brushed it again. Then his tongue replaced his fingers. And his hands snaked up to massage my breasts. He flicked his tongue quickly, once twice, then stroked my clit with his tongue, a slow long lick. My head flew back as I groaned in pleasure. What I saw shocked the arousal right out of me. Quinn was sitting there, chained to a tree. _What the?_ I jerked myself away from Preston.

I ran toward Quinn, but was tugged back. _You don't love Quinn. I'm the only one you love. The only one who will ever love you!_ He was in my head!

"No! Get the fuck out of my head!" I screamed. My voice echoed all over the woods. I kicked Preston between the legs and ran toward Quinn again. I felt something tugging me; I knew I would be under his control again if I didn't fight it. "I love you Quinn. I do. I promise." I went to my knees, unable to move forward anymore. My hands hit the ground, I was crawling toward him. It was slow going. Each movement took more effort from me than the one before. I was close to reaching him when darkness swallowed me.

* * *

A/N: This story is now rated 'M' because some "almost sex". It's not who I wanted the sex to be with either. But, hopefully we'll get to that! I hope I've succeded in making you wonder what the hell is going on! If so, I've done what I planned. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, this is one that I'm happier with, so please don't burst my bubble!


	6. Chapter 5: The Magic

**Chapter 5: The Magic**

I came awake with Amelia and Octavia one either side of my bed, muttering something in a foreign language. Their arms raised out in front of them. My dream had already receded into the back of my mind at the sight of the two witches.

"What the hell are you doing?" My voice was very calm, I'll have you know, even if I did feel like screaming. My throat was curiously raspy, however.

Their arms dropped right before they, themselves dropped onto my bed.

"Thank God," breathed Amelia. The two were gasping for breath, my entire room was shimmering, I could smell the work of magic.

"Thank God what?" I was already starting to lose patience.

"You're soul was traveling." Octavia said as she tried to sit up against my headboard.

"My soul?" If anyone else would have said that, I would have made fun of them. Octavia wasn't a 'haha I got ya' person though. While I tried to ponder this, Frannie came racing in the room, handing the three of us tall glasses of water. Her eyes were big and anxious as she watched us drink.

"I heard you yelling to Quinn that you love him." Frannie whispered. My eyes narrowed. That sounded familiar. I must have had another nightmare. "Did you see him?"

"I was asleep. If I did see him I was dreaming. But I don't remember my dream." I thought hard trying to remember, but I came up empty.

"Your soul was out of your body, whatever it was, it wasn't a dream. You need to remember. If you saw Quinn then a powerful witch has him. I've never met anyone powerful enough to even attempt soul traveling." This was from Octavia. Amelia still hadn't spoken.

"Amelia, are you okay?" She nodded her head, but still didn't look ready for speech. "Octavia?"

"I'm fine, girl, it's you I'm worried about. Someone pulled your soul right out of your body. We've been working for hours trying to put it back." Frannie had crawled onto the bed, too. The four of us sat, lost in thought for a long time. Why would a witch be out to get me? What would a witch want with a weretiger and two vampires? I asked myself the question over and over, but didn't come to a conclusion.

Tony jumped up onto the bed, it was amazing really. He was so small but could jump so high and so far. I picked him up and cuddled him to me, burying my nose in his neck. The thought of Quinn overwhelmed me, his scent surrounding me. Frannie looked up, staring hard, "Quinn," she breathed. It was like he was right there in the room with us. My eyes locked on Frannie's, her brown eyes suddenly changing to Quinn's purple ones. Amelia and Octavia looked back and forth between us. And I saw him, chained to a tree with silver, something like duct tape covering his mouth. His eyes staring at me, hurt and confused. I heard myself yelling, "I love you, Quinn! I do. I promise."

"He's in the woods. In a clearing. He's chained with silver. He's not injured." I broke away from the eye contact with Frannie, both of us were gasping. I watched her eyes changed back to brown.

"What was that?" Frannie gasped out. Amelia pointed at the cat.

"He did something. Sookie this is a magical cat. Where did you get him?" I pulled Tony closer to me, I felt like Amelia was insulting my cat, and I was offended.

"Quinn gave him to me. He's just a cat for goodness-sakes! He has toys and eats cat food and uses a litter box and everything! He's not like _Bob._"

"That was low, Sookie," Amelia replied. "I think he's an amplifier of some sort. Can I see him?" I hesitated. "I won't hurt him for crying out loud!" I handed Tony away. As soon as he left my hands, I lost the feeling of Quinn. Amelia smelled Tony, rubbing him from head to tail. "Hmm, nothing. Octavia?" She handed him over me and Octavia grabbed him up. Tony seemed to love the attention. After a thorough inspection, Octavia shook her head.

"There's something here. It's not malevolent. Just a light under-current of magic. It may only work for Sookie." She held him a minute longer, stroking his short hair. "I have an idea. Frannie, see if you can tell anything." Frannie looked confused but obligingly took her turn with the cat. She inhaled deeply, smiling, rubbed her face in his neck like I did.

"He smells just like Quinn." Amelia jumped up and ran out of the room. Frannie and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Octavia got closer to Frannie and Tony, reached her hand out. She didn't touch Tony, but kept an inch or so away.

"Hand him back to Sookie." So, it was my turn to hold him again. I felt like we were playing slow motion _Hot Potato_ but with a cat. My nose immediately went to his neck, like a compulsion. The feeling of Quinn surrounded me again. I could almost feel his arms holding me. I looked up to see Octavia backing up a little, her face showing excitement. "He's not an amplifier. This is a toyger, right?" I nodded. "What do you know about him?"

"Quinn said he ordered him for me, so I could have a tiger to snuggle when he wasn't around. It's just a plain cat that has a Bengal tiger for a grandpa."

"He didn't tell you the rest?" Frannie asked. I shook my head. "This cat was bred specially for him, well for you. That's why he was on a waiting list. I don't know much about if, but he's from Africa. He said he got a deal on it when he did the ceremony for a shaman's accession."

"It was bred by a shaman?" Octavia asked Frannie.

"I believe so."

"While this is really interesting, I need coffee and a toothbrush. Can we finish this once I'm presentable?" The two women left me alone with Tony. I did my morning routine, and went out to the kitchen. The three women were sitting at the table, Amelia poring over a book, and there was a cup of coffee waiting for me. I kissed Tony on the head and sat him on the floor while I drank.

"Okay, now you can tell me about this cat." Tony looked up at me like he knew I was talking about him.

"What I believe has happened, is that this shaman, whoever he is, put a piece of Quinn into this kitten." Octavia began.

"What? My brother wouldn't stick _a piece of himself_ in a cat! He doesn't even get in to magic! The only dealings he has with it is the ceremonies he has to do for work!" Frannie was outraged. I was thoughtful. I remembered wanting to name him Quinn, and just looking at Tony made me think of Quinn, I had assumed it was because he looked like a little tiger, but maybe there was more to it.

"Here, I found it," Amelia passed an old book to Octavia, Frannie and I looked over her shoulder. There was one long paragraph; I had to read it three times to make sure I understood it.

Non-Witches Familiar  
There are no defining characteristics of this cat, though it is rumored that toygers are the preferred animal. In fact this is such a rare magic that we were unable to find one for the purposes of this book. Details are scant, however we do know these cats must be bred by a witch, sorcerer, shaman, or another practicing magical being. At conception there must be a small amount of the givers' blood placed on the embryo, and the kitten must be conceived in a circle of power. There are numerous chants one must say before and after the birth, however practitioners of this magic are loath to give the details. Once born, the kitten will contain a soul. The giver then gives the cat as a gift to someone they love and feel protective over. This cat will forever after become a protector to the recipient. There are no details on how this works, however. Also, it is rumored that some givers have a 'fail-safe' added, so that only someone who truly loves the giver will be able to own the cat. It must also be noted that the Non-Witches Familiar can not be owned by a practicing magical being, a practitioner having ownership of such a cat, will cause all their magical abilities to lessen. Among supernatural beings, ownership will result in amplifying any powers they possess, such as a keen sense of smell, or acute vision, psychics likewise will find controlling their abilities to be an easier task when the animal is near.

"So, you're telling me my brother gave her a piece of his soul in the form of a cat?" Frannie wasn't just outraged, she was livid. "He didn't even know if you would take him back! But he was still giving you a piece of his soul! You're out screwing werewolves while he's at home crying over you, and he gives you his soul!" Frannie sunk back in her chair, now crying. "You don't deserve my brother. He's too good for you!" She almost whispered the last part. I stood there in shock. I didn't know for sure what this meant. Did he really give me a piece of his soul, or did it mean the cat had a soul of his own? Frannie hated me again. I could see it clearly in her mind. Octavia sat with her mouth in an 'o', but Amelia was angry.

"Frannie, how dare you take this out on her? She didn't ask for this. Your brother did this himself. And if she screwed a hundred men that's none of his business while they were broke up!" I saw her brain catch right before her mouth did. "Wait a minute! What werewolf?"

"Thanks a lot Frannie," I grumbled, she did at least have the courtesy to look embarrassed. I decided not to be too angry because I had planned on telling Amelia at least about Preston. So there I went telling the story all over again.

"Do you really think Jason would have given them permission to use your property? I know he's an ass, but I don't think he'd try to put you in harms way." After catching the look on my face, she amended, "okay, physical harm."

"You know, he never said Jason's name. I think he said 'a panther from way out in the country'".

"You should tell Calvin that. He'll have to check with Jason, and if it wasn't him, he'll have to check with his entire pack." Amelia said.

"I'm sure he's already done that. I don't know. Speaking of which, where is everyone today? We've been alone for hours." I looked at the three women.

"They went back out to search. We were supposed to meet them after you got out of bed." Frannie's face was still red from crying, but it seemed as though she was getting herself under control.

"Okay, let me get my shoes on and we'll go. Do the two of you think you can try to breach that wall after the energy you expended on me?" I still wasn't sure my soul was really traveling. Maybe I should borrow one of their books and investigate it for myself. In less than five minutes we were dressed for winter and walking out the door.

"Bring Tony!" Octavia commanded. Without asking questions, I picked him up. Once out the door, Tony wanted down, I was afraid to let him, but his squirming started to get uncomfortable. Once I set him on the ground though, he didn't leave my side. He walked with his head up and back straight, looking like he was proud of himself. We were all amazed watching him prance through the forest; he took point in our little trek, just like Quinn would have, and lead us straight to the clearing.

Amelia and Octavia immediately felt the power, and started pressing on the hazy circle. It seemed like Tony felt it too, because he walked straight to it, and tried to climb. It was a sad sight, his paws pressed against the invisible wall, meowing and crying. I picked him up and tried to comfort him. When I thought about what I was doing I felt stupid. I looked at Frannie, her eyes were wide and she was staring at Tony as well.

"Frannie, if there really is a part of Quinn inside this cat, he might be comforted by us both." That was all it took and Frannie was by my side petting Tony. He started purring immediately. I think he liked the two of us surrounding him.

There was suddenly a lot of noise in the woods around us, we were all startled and looked toward the sounds. Calvin came running out followed closely by Sam. They lurched to a stop just feet from where we stood.

"We can't find Alcide." Calvin exclaimed. Calvin being a man of few words, and prone to calmness even when everyone else was overexcited, I was shocked more by his tone than his statement.

"We were all together, Calvin, Alcide, his two trackers and me, then Alcide was gone! Just gone! We tried to follow his trail, but it just ended! We've looked everywhere for him!" Again, Sam was not one to freak out, and I was getting scared, this was just not like the two standing in front of me. Tony started to hiss and growl at the two. I was shocked.

"Sookie, he's feeling your fear, and he thinks you're afraid of Calvin and Sam. You need to calm down, everything he feels Quinn is going to feel." Octavia stated it all matter-of-factly but it just seemed unreal. Could Quinn really be that connected to this little kitten? I put my nose to Tony's neck and closed my eyes so I could feel Quinn surrounding me. I felt arms go around the kitten and me, but didn't open my eyes to see who it was. After a moment, I was calm.

"Frannie!" I exclaimed, because it was her arms that were around me. It felt so much like Quinn that it hadn't bothered me. But I was still shocked. I'd thought she hated me again.

"Sorry, it just felt like Quinn was there, I wanted to hold him, too." She looked both ashamed and defensive, but her voice was small, childlike.

"It's okay, Frannie. If he can really feel what Tony's feeling, which I'm not totally convinced, then he probably just got a little boost. He'll know we're both thinking about him and missing him. Maybe it'll help him to get out of whatever situation he's in."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam asked. We ignored him. Amelia and Octavia were back at the circle, chanting so low, I couldn't make out the actual words.

"You think you can break it?" Calvin asked.

"No. Whoever did this is much more powerful than I am. Or even Amelia and I combined," Octavia sighed. "I don't think we could break this with a full coven."

"Could this be fae magic?" The question was from Amelia to Octavia, but I began my own internal investigation. I only knew three fairies; my great-grandfather would never do something like this. Claudine was aiming for angel status, and doing this would set her back too far. Claude, well, I think he enjoyed acting human too much to do this, and what would be the purpose of either twin doing this? While I was thinking Octavia had been talking, and I only caught the end, "- fairy magic can't be broken by a human."

"Wait? Back up! I lost you there for a minute. You think a fairy _could _have done this?" I had just determined it wasn't anyone I knew. I didn't know any other fairies, what would they do this for?

"I think you should call your fairy godmother." Amelia said.

"You have a fairy godmother?" the look on Calvin's face was pure comedy.

Instead of answering, I picked up my cell phone. Naturally there was no signal. "I'll have to call her back at the house." Everyone seemed to want to stay around the circle. It seemed like it was the only hope we had for finding the missing were's and vampires. Leaving the circle seemed like leaving the ones who'd been captured. But we all left, slowly.

Tony jumped down from Frannie's arms and ran back to the circle. We all watched curiously as he pushed his face against the invisible wall and meowed, as though marking territory. After a few minutes he walked back to us, looking over his shoulder at something we couldn't see. Then he picked his head back up, straightened his shoulders and marched us out of the woods. It was just as curious as the first time. But I was the only one that seemed really shocked by it. I guess everyone was more used to super-intelligent animals than I was.

My cell phone didn't get signal until we were already in my yard. So I thought we might as well walk into the house and at least get warm before we called Claudine and had to wait for her. I wasn't even surprised to see the two trackers, Sid and Emilio, sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"Coffee," I moaned as I went to make my own cup. Tony followed me around like a puppy dog instead of the cat he was. I had to pick him up and take him to his water bowl before he would drink. Looking at him, realizing how much more than a cat he was, I opened the refrigerator and looked for meat to give him. Lucky there was some thin raw steak I'd planned on using for dinner yesterday, before I realized how many people I would need to feed. I cut it up into bite-sized kitty pieces and sat it in front of him. He looked up at me and gave a quick, throaty purr and began to eat.

Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, and I used that time to test out the theory of controlling my telepathy when the kitten was around. Sid and Emilio's thoughts were much clearer, I could also tune one in and block out the other. This could be useful. I listened in on Sam's thoughts. _Maybe she was right and someone is taking all her love interests, I guess it's actually a good thing she's never loved me like I do her. _Then Calvin, _I sure wish she would have accepted when I asked, she wouldn't be going through this now. She'd be at home in Hot Shot surrounded by people who care, not searching for some ex. Even if is Quinn. _I shuddered and decided to ignore both of their thoughts, but realized I could 'hear' them as clearly as I could a human.

"Uh, Sook, you think you might wanna call Claudine now?" Sam asked. I did as requested; she was at work and couldn't make it until nightfall. I didn't like the sound of that, she obviously noticed and said Claude would help out until she got there. Knowing Claude he would be surly when he got there, late as usual. We settled in for a long wait, and I didn't hear a single thought coming at me.

_Pop_, Claude was standing in my kitchen. Everyone jumped. Tony ran at Claude hissing and growling.

"Tony," I scolded, running to pick him up. With a very human expression, Tony glared at Claude. I wasn't afraid of anything this time, I didn't know why Tony immediately disliked Claude.

"That's not just a cat," Claude growled. I nearly laughed thinking of the last time I'd heard that.

"Nope." I stated. "Did Claudine tell you what was going on?"

"You've got two shapeshifters and two vampires missing. There's a powerful magic circle and you want me to try to break it." As blunt as always, he hit the nail on the head.

"That's the gist of it." I said. To my surprise Claude walked over to me and put his arms around me, resting his head on top of mine. "Will there ever be a time that you're not in some kind of trouble?" He didn't sound angry or upset, at least.

I shrugged him off, feeling a little peeved. "Hey! This isn't my fault. I don't even know why anyone would do this."

"Let's go," he said. "Just me and you. I can only give you a ride. The rest aren't fairy enough." To my amazement, he put his arm around my shoulder, and _pop_ we were somewhere else. I didn't recognize it and he didn't give me time to study. I couldn't see much through the fog, but it seemed like a wooded area, with shadows moving all around us. He pulled me forward a few feet, opened a door I hadn't known was there, and _pop_ we were in the clearing again.

"Wow! You have to teach me how to do that." Claude smiled, a genuine smile and shook his head.

"Grandfather would be mighty unhappy if he knew you had even been to the ether world. Let's keep that between you and me."

"That was the ether world? How does it work? Why - " Claude put his hand over my mouth.

"I'm not saying another word about it. Let's do what we came for." He walked around the circle, staring hard at it. Then took a position a few feet in front of it. He breathed deeply a few times, then closed his eyes. He held out his hands at shoulder height and shoved forward. It looked like the air all around us pushed at once, I could feel myself being pushed forward a little bit. The air hit the wall and made a loud booming noise. I felt the ground shake. Wow! Remind me never to piss Claude off!

Claude growled, and his humanity left him. Standing before me was something that only shared the vaguest resemblance to a human. He still had a head and two arms and legs, but he was almost solid light. Looking at him was like staring into the sun. He was beautiful and suddenly formidable. This was not the same man I had seen strip for money, flirting for all he was worth. He wasn't the seemingly innocuous man I had met before. I suddenly knew without a doubt that I did not know my cousin Claude. He turned his head toward me, I could make out his lips, barely, and he was smiling.

"Don't be afraid, little cousin." His words hit me like a balm. I was soothed. He wasn't the Claude I had known, no, he was Claude the Savior. This was a Claude that would never harm me, and would do anything to protect me. He spread his arms wide, pulled them back toward himself and flung them out in front of him. This time the boom felt like an earthquake. The haziness of the circle retracted upon the impact of the air Claude threw at it, but pushed back as the air dissipated. Claude growled again. His anger was palpable.

"Run," he screamed at me. I didn't need told twice. As soon as I was out of the clearing, I felt like the air was being ripped from my lungs, I nearly hit the ground, but barely kept myself upright. I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life and ten minutes later the ground was shaking under my feet. I couldn't keep upright anymore, and I hit the ground. Then _boom,_ it sounded like an explosion. All around me the trees shook, nearly uprooting.

_"Come back"_ I heard clearly, though I knew it was in my mind. How was Claude talking in my mind? I was running back to him as fast as I could, before I even realized I was off the ground. I tried to think on it, on why I was obeying him so easily, but the answers wouldn't come. In a shockingly short amount of time, I was standing in front of him. It looked like he'd collapsed on the ground. He was hardly moving. I rushed over to help him, I got his stood up with his arm around my shoulders, my arm around his waist.

"You're going to have to guide us home. I'm sure grandfather will understand you going to the ether world to help me." He was back to his human form, but was almost shimmering, like he was having trouble holding his form together. "Sookie, we have to hurry, think hard of the ether world, and you have to," he thought for a second, "you have to _push _it out of you." I closed my eyes and thought hard on what I had seen when we went through the door the first time. Having it fixed fully in my mind, I opened my eyes, picked a spot, and tried to fling my thoughts into it. And I was standing in the ether world.

"Whoa! I didn't think I could do it!" Claude was right beside me, arm around my shoulders, still. He no longer looked wobbly.

"That was great. Now think about your kitchen and do the same thing." I followed his instructions and there was a door in front of me. Claude was all smiles as he said "I think you have more fairy than grandfather even knows. Walk through the door, you'll be at home. Claudine will come tonight. I have to stay here to recover."

"But what happened? Why do you need to recover?"

"I used nearly all my energy. Once you hit earth again, you're going to feel weak as well. It was your energy that brought us here, and your energy that will get you home. You'll need caffeine and rest. Go, Claudine will explain more tonight." As Claude was shoving me toward the door, I tried to look around and take in as much of this place as I could. It was very foggy but the shadows moving around seemed to be getting closer and closer. For a split-second I was terrified, and I rushed through the door.

I didn't even _pop_ this time when I stepped out. Everyone was staring at me. For a few seconds everyone just sat stunned before a word was said.

"Where were you?" Sam came running at me and scooped me up in a hug.

"I was at the clearing. It was awesome, you guys need to try it, _pop_ we were there and _pop_ I was back! I've never felt anything like it."

"Of course you haven't. Only fairies can travel that way." Amelia snapped. Oh yeah, she didn't trust fairies. Amelia and Claudine bickered back and forth every time they were forced in a room together.

"We were so worried about you. A fairy pops in, grabs you and you were gone! Everyone is saying a fairy is what did that in the woods. We were afraid you were gone now!" Frannie was frantic. I peeked in her head, I'm embarrassed to say. And what I saw made me feel terrible. To her, I was family already, even if she was mad about Tony. To her, her mother was a lost cause and the only family she had was Quinn and I.

"Oh Frannie," I reached out to hug her, feeling more than ever that I didn't know this girl at all. Frannie jerked away before I could hug her though.

"It's not nice to read someone's mind without telling them first!" She exclaimed.

"You're right, I'm sorry. It's such a habit, though, that I do it without thinking." She seemed mollified, but I didn't check her mind to make sure.

"Okay, Claude didn't seem to have much luck. In fact he used so much energy that he had to go back to wherever fairies go to recuperate. He said Claudine would explain when she gets here tonight."

"Should we tell the vamps not to come?" This was Calvin's first entry into the conversation. Good old, reliable, pragmatic Calvin.

"I don't know. If we get the vamps back, they might be starved or something. What if they need blood? We'll need vamps to restrain them or they'll attack us all. I know they'd all want Claudine because of her scent, but since she's the only one that might be able to break the circle, she has to be here."

"You look worn out, Sookie, you'd better take a nap." Sam told me. Oh yeah, Claude said caffeine and sleep.

"I need caffeine first, maybe some sugar, too. Claude didn't have the energy to get back so he had to use mine." I didn't feel much different than when Bill used to feed from me though. I wasn't really too tired. Probably some sweet tea and I'd be fine. I picked Tony back up, remembering I was holding him when Claude _popped_ us out of my kitchen. "What happened to Tony when we, uh, popped out?"

"He just fell to the ground. You should have seen his face!" Frannie was laughing now, "he looked around like 'what the hell?'" Everyone started laughing now. I'm guessing they were too worried to laugh when it had originally happened.

I got my tea and started to walk into the living room when I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten. I asked everyone if they were hungry. Of course everyone was. I didn't have anything to fix for two werewolves, one werepanther, a true shapeshifter, two witches, a cat with a soul, and a telepathic barmaid. After a few minutes it was settled, Sam went to Wendy's. Sid went with him and I asked them to pick up some True Blood since the vamps would be back later.

I sat on the couch, thinking of nothing in particular, when I felt a pull. It was just like when Claude told me what to do. I felt like I had to do what I was told, that there was no choice in the matter. I tried to investigate it, figure out why I was following unspoken orders, but there was something keeping it from me. I felt myself get up from the couch and I began to walk across the room. I don't know if anyone had a reaction or not, because I couldn't turn my head to the side. I heard voices but I couldn't make out the words. All I knew was there was someplace I needed to be.

I walked out the back door of my house, making a beeline straight for the woods. '_Come to me, the one you love._' I heard over an over. All I could think of was Quinn. I looked down and saw my bare feet, and long white nightgown. _I'm not asleep this time!_ I told myself. I felt a breeze blowing my hair around my shoulders. I heard a noise behind me. I couldn't turn around to see what it was. But I felt Quinn, for a moment I stood still. I knew that Quinn was behind me, I just needed to turn around and go to him. The pull forward was getting stronger.

"No!" I yelled. Inch by painful inch, I turned back toward my house. Tony was behind me, not Quinn. "Tony," I whispered, and he jumped up and I caught him in my arms. I felt a pull from two directions now. Behind me and in front. The pulls were equally strong, I couldn't move in either direction. I closed my eyes, put my nose to Tony's neck and felt Quinn surround me. I could see him, chained to a tree, there was no duct tape across his mouth this time. His lips were moving but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I strained my ears, but there was nothing.

I shook my head, frustrated, and opened my eyes. I was standing in front of Quinn, Tony still in my arms. I rushed forward to unchain him. His hands were cuffed; there was another chain around his stomach. He struggled to his knees, then his feet. But he was still pressed to the tree. I didn't have keys to unlock his cuffs and I wasn't strong enough to break them.

"I'm sorry, Quinn. I can't get you out! I'll come back and get you, I promise!" I got as close to him as I could, wrapping my arms around him, pressing Tony in between us. He leaned down and put his lips to mine. I closed my eyes as the clearing filled with light. I pressed harder into him, kissing him for all I was worth. Trying to show him all my feelings in a single kiss. "I love you," I whispered as I reluctantly pulled away.

When I opened my eyes Quinn's beautiful face isn't what I saw. It was Calvin, Sam, Frannie, Amelia, Octavia, Emilio and Sid. I was back in my living room, sitting on my couch.

"How did I get back here?" I asked everyone, hoping someone would have an answer.

"That, dear, was soul traveling," Octavia said.

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A/N: I've read over some of what I've written, and I've found a few spelling mistakes. I don't think there is enough to require finding a Beta, but if the mistakes get too bad please tell me and I'll begin my search. I know it takes a lot longer to get a story up with a beta than it does without. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. There are some answers and even more questions. Once again, if anything confuses you please just ask. One of the problems in editing your own work, is you know what you're trying to say and sometimes things get left out and no matter how many times you re-read you can't tell. Last thing, my writing has slowed down a little, I'd hoped to get one chapter out a day, but that might not be feasible. I will still try, of course. But don't be too mad if it takes a little longer. I will finish it and get it out quicker than I've seen a lot of others do!


	7. Chapter 6: The Fairy

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! The story was going off in a direction I wasn't fully happy with, so I had to completely rewrite this chapter and I'm working on rewriting the next one. I'll upload the next chapter ASAP. I hope you're enjoying my story, the reviews cut in half for the last chapter, but there were still over 700 hits, so I'm not sure if I lost whatever I had going before, or if people just didn't want to review. I am also happy to say, that this story has been added to 37 favorites lists. That's really exciting to me!

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**Chapter 6: The Fairy**

The vamps arrived before Claudine. I was well-fed and unfortunately convinced I'd been soul-traveling by the time the five vamps stepped into my living room. I told them Claudine would be coming and they needed to stay away from her. I explained everything I could to Pam, Clancy, Felicia and two others who were never introduced. One reminded me of Long Shadow; he looked American Indian, long dark hair he had braided all the way down his back. He must have been a biker in his human life because his arms were covered in tattoos, he wore a white tee-shirt, a leather vest, blue jeans and boots. The other vamp was a woman, she was shorter than me, a well-proportioned red-head. She was dressed how most humans seemed to think vampires dressed. Black leather head to toe. Pam had the usual soccer-mom getup going, Clancy, his usual jeans and t-shirt, and Felicia looked gorgeous as always. I realized I was staring when I heard a throat clear.

"I realize Apenimon is attractive, but I think your staring should wait until we find all your actual boyfriends. You do think that is more important?" Pam was smiling her conniving little smile.

"I wasn't staring, I was thinking and he was just there!" I screeched, embarrassed. "And I don't currently have a boyfriend, if you will recall. There are two exes, one, uhm," what should I call Eric? "One past lover and one friend!" I chanced a peek and Pam was still smiling merrily, but Apenimon was giving me a look I wasn't sure I cared for. When he caught me looking, he smiled, just the tips of his fangs showed.

"Apenimon is a funny name for a vampire," I stated. His smile got wider.

"Yes, some would say that." Now the room was looking back and forth between us like we were a tennis match.

"Why is it a funny name?" Sid asked.

"It means 'worthy of trust.'" I replied. The vamps glared at me, except Apenimon who was smiling even wider.

"Smart girl," his voice held unmistakable humor.

"I read a lot." I stated simply.

"Can some one explain to the rest of the class why 'worthy of trust' is funny?" Emilio looked peeved.

"I take it you've never been friends with a vampire?" I asked.

"Hell, no." He was firm. I rolled my eyes.

"While certain vampires can be trustworthy, they won't admit it even to themselves. Eric, himself has told me dozens of times that I would be a fool to trust him. Vampires are loyal to themselves first of all, and other vampires second and there aren't many humans they typically add to that list. And most would probably never add a shifter at all."

"Yet here you are," Apenimon said, "in a room filled with vampires, and you aren't scared in the least."

"I'm abnormal. Besides Filipe has put me under protection and everyone under him has sworn to protect me even at the cost of their lives. I don't want to die, but I'm sure that if I did, whoever killed me would be right behind me. And vampires like their undead lives."

"Abnormal might just be the word for you." Apenimon was thoughtful, "here you are in trouble and there isn't a single human around you."

"There are two humans, Amelia and Octavia," I said pointing them out.

"Witches," he replied, "barely count as human."

"In that case," I retorted, "telepaths must not count as human either."

"Ah, Pam didn't tell us we'd be in the company of a telepath." He didn't seem upset, just amused.

"Oh, and here I thought I was famous among supes. I guess I overestimated my charms."

"Oh, I wouldn't say you've overestimated your _charm_ at all." With that came a leer. Uh oh, I'd better watch this one.

"If you two are done flirting," Pam was no longer smiling, "Perhaps we can move along?"

"I wasn't flirting, Pam! It's nice to just have a conversation and forget for a minute that my life is in shambles! I'm freaking soul-traveling! Seeing my ex-boyfriend tied up to a tree in the middle of the woods. Smelling more and more like a fairy everyday. Learning how to travel in fairy realms! Half of my friends have turned up missing and no one has a clue how to find them! I have a lot on my mind!"

"Perhaps if you kept your mind on task, we could solve this problem and you can worry about repairing the _shambles_ your life is in." Pam sneered.

"Oh, can it, Pam! I'm not a vampire. I'm not as pragmatic as you all! I need distractions or I'll go crazier than I already am. So, just. -"

"Oh, for God sakes!" Amelia shouted interrupting my rant, "We have people to find!" That calmed me right down, I think it worked on Pam, too.

"I've alerted Victor to our problem. If Eric isn't found by tomorrow evening, Victor will begin looking himself." Pam now sounded like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Oh, no Pam! Does he know everything?" I was afraid. The last time I had seen Victor he was contemplating whether or not to kill me, and Eric and Bill and Amelia and Frannie. This wasn't good news to me.

"He does not know the blood-bond is broken. Do not tell him that, whatever you do. It could be very dangerous to you. I've explained that we're both cut off from him. And told him there are witches or something else magical involved. Don't give him anymore than that, or I won't be responsible for what happens to you." Pam sounded dead-serious. _Ha-ha._

"I thought you were all sworn to protect me! No matter what happens, you can't let him take me!" I was nearly hysterical thinking of all the scenarios that could go wrong.

"We will protect you with our lives, but only if your life is in danger. If Victor insists on taking you to Filipe, there is nothing we can do." Before I had come up with a response to that, I heard a high-pitched giggle.

"Everyone with fangs out of the house!" They just looked at me. "Fairy coming! Out, out!" Finally they went out the front door and Claudine appeared before me.

"Thank you, Sookie; I don't know if I could have lasted long with five vamps around." She sounded amazingly cheerful even though we were talking about the possibility of her demise at the hands of vampires. "We'll meet with Claude soon. Since he couldn't break the circle himself, we're going to try together. You can come with us, but no one else."

"But what if you find Eric and Bill? They could be hungry and attack. After all you guys are like crack to them." She smiled her happy smile again.

"You don't think the two of us can handle a couple of vampires?" She didn't wait for an answer, but continued. "Claude said you saw the ether world. He said you went in and out like a pro."

"I don't know about being a pro. But it was easy after he told me what to do."

"Did you get rest like he told you to?"

"I tried. What do you know about soul traveling?" Her eyes opened wide, shock written across her face.

"Quite a bit, why do you ask?"

"Sookie has learned how," Amelia piped in, seemingly with pride. Claudine was looking at me as though she'd never seen me before. It was one of the few times I'd seen her unsmiling.

"I didn't learn how! I was just suddenly somewhere else, and under someone else's control, too. But the last time, I managed to pull away from it somehow. And I found Quinn! I don't remember the details of the first two times. I thought I was dreaming. But I woke up and Amelia and Octavia were saying some kind of spell over me. They said they were trying to put my soul back in my body."

"Witch, how did you know her soul was out of her body?" Claudine asked Amelia.

"Octavia was the one that figured it out, not me. I couldn't wake her up and finally I yelled for Octavia and she was the one that told me."

"You can see souls?" She asked Octavia.

"Yes. I can't control them, but I can see them. Sookie's soul is bright, she looks like she's glowing."

"You can see souls all the time? Even when it's in her body where it belongs?" Octavia nodded, she seemed slightly intimidated by Claudine, but she kept her head up. "Does my soul and Sookie's look alike?"

"Yours is brighter, but they're the same color, share the same pulsing glow. It's like it starts from your chest and lightens as it goes through your body. Like I said, yours is just a bit brighter than hers." Claudine seemed to think on this.

"I can't see souls. There is more to you than you show, Octavia." Octavia looked down at her feet and didn't say another word. "Sookie, take us to the clearing. We have work to do." I thought of the ether, this time, there was no hesitation; I knew I'd done it once, so now it was easy. Claude was there waiting for us. He put his arm around my waist, and gestured to keep going. I thought about the clearing and created the door. And we stepped out into the woods.

"This is not fairy work," Claudine said, touching the wall as she walked around it. "This is definitely witchcraft. But too powerful for a human to have done it." She walked around it, investigating every inch. Claude hadn't touched it when he had tried to breach it. As though she heard my thoughts, Claudine said, "Claude can see magic with his eyes, but I can only see it with my hands. As I touch it, it will solidify to me." I stood back remembering what Claude had done to try to breach it.

Claude stood on one side of the circle, Claudine on the other. "Don't be scared, Sookie," Claudine called before they both dropped their human masks. Claudine was as beautiful as Claude. The two combined filled the clearing and a large part of the woods with their light. This time, though, I knew what to expect and I wasn't scared, when they both started pulling the air toward them. _Not air, energy_. I heard clearly. I didn't know which of them was telling me this, but I was happy for the information. Claudine's pull seemed more delicate, but not less effective. I felt the air around me move, the grass going nearly flat, even the trees bowed toward the twins.

The twins jerked their arms forward, making no sound; I could see the impact, the haze dissipated and all the energy flew right through were the circle had been. I let out a cry, thinking they'd done it, but then came the sound of thunder and the energy poured back out with as much force as it went in. _BOOM!_ It was louder than a shotgun blast. The three of us were lying on our backs on the ground, gasping for breath. The earth beneath us began to heave. A tree nearby uprooted and fell with a loud _thud_. The air continued to move, surrounding us, getting slower and slower, and then all was quiet.

"Whoever did this was stronger than us!" Claudine said cheerfully. I realized they were back in their human forms and I could hardly see them. "We'll need to speak with Niall. Something supernatural has done this." I was still lying on the ground, in shock. What had happened seemed unreal. There had been a small tornado in this clearing. And it was caused by my cousins, who were standing there cheerfully discussing the events as thought they hadn't a care in the world. I slowly got to my feet, and walked over to join them.

"What can Niall do? Will he be able to breach this?" They looked at me with identical expressions that clearly said, 'are you dumb?'

"Niall is the most powerful fairy there is. We assumed this was done by some human witch. We thought we could take care of it with no problems. We didn't want to bother him with something simple. But now we know it's not simple. Not for us anyway. But it'll take him no more than to snap his fingers and this wall will come tumbling down."

"Wow I didn't realize how powerful he was." I looked around thinking about everything that's gone on the past few days. I had a lot of questions for the fairies. "Do you guys know much about my cat?"

"I know it has a soul, but it is a cat." Claude said, "but that's it."

"You have a cat with a soul?" Claudine looked impressed. "You have a lot going on your life don't you?"

"It was a Christmas present from Quinn. Niall was here when he gave it to me, but didn't say anything about it. Quinn didn't give me any details either. He just told me that he was a toyger, then all of a sudden, if I touched the cat, I felt like Quinn was standing right beside me." The twins sat down, Indian-style on the forest floor; I sat too, but continued talking. "I could smell him. I could almost feel him. And Octavia and Amelia started freaking out saying that there was a part of Quinn inside the cat. Then I read an entry in some witchcraft book, saying it required blood of the person, and I'm so confused. Does the cat have part of Quinn's soul?"

"No." Claudine said. "The cat has his own soul. At conception it gets the blood of a living person, because living people are the only ones who can have souls. Through magical rituals, trust me you don't want the details, it becomes attached first to the person whose blood it has, and second to the person they love. The cat and the person whose blood they've received, Quinn's, will have a connection, almost telepathic. The cat will be smarter than any cat should be, and will be able to alert you if Quinn is in trouble, or alert Quinn if you're in trouble. The best bet is to not tell anyone, of course."

"So this isn't a bad thing?" I asked, and Claudine laughed.

"Do you think Niall would have let you keep it if there was anything wrong?" Claude asked.

"I want to hear more about this soul traveling," Claudine said. Claude raised his eyebrows. I told them everything I had learned about it. Including two dreams I couldn't remember. I told them how I'd felt out of control, like I didn't even want to disobey and as soon as I realized that wasn't right and tried to figure it out, there was something to stop me.

"Glamour," Claude stated.

"Glamour doesn't work on me!" I told them.

"I glamoured you without a problem," Claude said smugly.

"You glamoured Sookie?" Claudine looked outraged.

"I had to! I moved so much energy it could have killed her if she got in the middle of it. I had to make her get away. And she was scared when she saw me lose my human form." He argued.

"I wasn't scared! I've seen Niall without his human form." They both looked at me now.

"Whatever," Claude said. "I was in the middle of something that I didn't have time to explain and I didn't want her hurt. End of story." Claudine glared for another second, but I wasn't really bothered, I should have been damn it!

"You're taking this well," Claudine stated.

"I've been taking everything well lately. I haven't cried with everyone missing - well not like I should have, anyway. I've wanted to find them, but every time someone tells me to sit in the house, I just feel like 'okay'. Then, I realize I should be freaking out, but I still don't. Pam and Sam both said I wasn't acting like myself. Oh! And they said I smell more like fairy than I should some times. Pam almost lost it at Merlotte's yesterday."

"Do you think she has more fairy in her than Niall knows?" Claude asked Claudine.

"It's not like him to overlook something like that," Claudine said. They both sat thoughtful for a minute. "Why can't you find Eric with you blood bond?"

"Oh holy hell! There's still so much I haven't told you." I know it took nearly half an hour for me to tell them everything, starting with an injured Preston in the woods. I felt like I should have recorded it by now and just press play whenever someone asked me about it.

"You've had a busy few days. The Weres didn't recognize this Preston's scent or name?" I shook my head. "I think we should look for him, it seems extreme, but it's an awful big coincidence that someone you've never met shows up at you house, seduces you, then your lovers, ex-lovers, whatever, all get kidnapped." I'd never thought of it like that. I gave her the information; she said she would get back with me. She told me to use the doorways myself this time, because the twins had a few more things they wanted to try. I didn't lurk in the ether world, though I would have loved to, because there seemed to be something ominous with those shadows that tried to surround me.

Stepping into my kitchen, I seemed to be alone. I dropped my shields to see where everyone else was. I felt a shifter mind walking toward the front of my house, but no one else. I couldn't identify the shifter, though I knew it wasn't Sam, Tray or the trackers. All the other shifters I knew were missing. I walked cautiously into the living room and peeked out the window. My heart stopped. It was someone I'd never thought I would see again. Preston Pardloe. Well, I thought, at least I'll get the chance to question him.

I stepped out onto the front porch and sat on the top step, waiting for him to approach.

"Sookie, I've missed you." He reached to hug me, but I pulled away. It was ridiculously hard to do. It seemed like my body was craving his. I felt like I needed his touch. But I wasn't going to give in to that. His face showed confusion and hurt. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. While his mind was snarls of red and black typical to Weres, I couldn't read any specific thoughts.

"Preston," I nodded to him. "I really didn't think I would see you again. Have you been back to your pack?"

"No, I've been in hiding. Why did you back away from my embrace?"

"Because I don't know you well enough." It was simple and honest. But not the whole truth. I was a little afraid of him. Why would I want him so much when I thought he was involved in the kidnapping of half the people I knew?

"You know me plenty," he chuckled as he sat on the step beside me. "You know me better than most people in the world, as I do you." I was confused. Having sex with someone didn't mean you _knew_ them. I decided to ignore it, since I didn't understand.

"I'm really worried about my friends," I told him. "I'm scared they're hurt or worse."

"They're only people who have hurt you. Why should you concern yourself with them?" Alarms started ringing all over my body. I didn't tell him who was missing, and I certainly never told him my history. This was bad. Where was every one?

"Why do you say that?" I asked, thinking I shouldn't let him know what I had discovered.

"Quinn helped vampires take over your state, right in your front yard. Eric forced you to bond with him."

"No, Eric didn't force me. It was between him and a very evil man. I chose the lesser of two evils," I protested. "And Quinn did what he had to, to save his mother, sister and me."

"Make your excuses for the foul creatures. They are nothing but excuses." I found I couldn't argue, instead I was starting to agree. "Eric was an opportunist. He took the opportunity as soon as it arose." Hmm, I thought, perhaps he had a point. "Bill broke your heart, he came to you under false pretenses. He lied to you, left you, cheated on you, raped you and nearly drained you dry." He was right! Absolutely right, I let myself feel angry at Bill, and Eric and Quinn too! They had all lied and mistreated me. "And Alcide, he was worse. He led you on, playing on your attraction to him and you're helping nature, using you for your abilities over and over. He used you to help him and held it against you when things didn't go his way, though it had nothing to do with you." He was so right! Alcide was horrible to me. Even blaming me for his father's death. And it wasn't my fault!

"And you can't forget Sam," he continued. "He says he's in love with you, but doesn't bother to show it unless someone else has interest in you. He had you for five years, if he would have just showed interest. But he waited until you starting seeing Bill before he told you." Something seemed off about that, but I let it go. I was too busy feeling angry at everyone who had ever mistreated me. I wanted to cry and scream. Preston seemed to sense this, because he pulled me toward him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm here for you, Sookie. I want you, just you." I knew he meant it. I knew he would never hurt me, never betray me, but would stay by my side. Wait! How could I know this about him? I tried to search my mind but there was a block somehow. I forgot my searching immediately when he reached down and kissed me.

"Do you mean that Preston?" My voice sounded childlike to me. I didn't like it.

"Of course I do. I would never hurt you. If you would be with me, there would be nothing in the world you couldn't have. I would make every one of your dreams come true." I was completely reassured. "Your friends are on their way back, would you like me to leave?" I felt a pull on my mind as I was about to say 'Yes, it would probably be better that way.' But my answer was changed before it had come out of my mouth.

"No, of course not. Everyone should meet you, and know that I'm with you now." Again, I hardly recognized my own voice. Suddenly the five vampire were standing in front of us. I smiled happily up at them. "Everyone meet Preston, Preston - everyone."

"Sookie, what's wrong with you?" Pam asked.

"I smell fairy," Apenimon exclaimed, coming closer.

"Nothing is wrong with me Pam," I felt compelled to look at Preston, then stated "This is my boyfriend Preston." Where did that come from? Oh well. "And Apenimon, I'm part fairy, so you'll just have to learn to ignore it, or at least immune yourself to it."

"You've been glamoured!" Pam yelled.

"Pam, you know Weres can't glamour people! And no one can glamour me, except Claude," I muttered.

"You're not a Were," Felicia said to Preston calmly. Clancy reached for me, I jerked away.

"No, you guys are nuts! This is the Were I met on Christmas Eve! I told you about him.

"What have you done with my master?" Pam was in Preston's face now. "Bring him back _now!"_ she commanded him. It looked like she was trying hard to glamour him, but it wasn't working. I was proud. At least I had found someone else that was as hard-headed as me.

"Pam, leave him alone. He didn't do anything wrong." I heard the front door open from behind me. I reached out to find who it was. Amelia, Octavia and Tray. I had been so occupied with what was going on that I hadn't even noticed anyone creeping up behind me. That wasn't good.

I felt a tug on my shirt, I looked down. Tony was looking up at me. He was so cute that I couldn't resist picking him up, even as Preston snarled "No, you will not touch him!"

"Mmmm, Quinn," I turned to look at everyone around me, everyone was staring. I felt an arm tighten around my shoulders. Why was someone hugging me? I turned to look, seeing Preston. There was a look of concern on his face. But my dreams came back to me. Preston calling me through the woods. Trying to take me away from Quinn. Telling me he's the only one I would ever love. Almost having sex with him on a blanket in the clearing. The clearing where Quinn was.

"That's your circle!" I yelled at him while pulling away from his grip. "You've taken all my friends! It's been you! You're doing this. Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

"I haven't done anything to you," his voice was soothing, I felt it trying to press into my mind. He was trying to glamour me! "I told you, I only want you. I'll never hurt you."

"You're not a Were! Were's can't glamour people! What are you?"

"I'm yours, and you're mine. I can see you won't be rational right now. I'll come back, we'll talk. I'll get you to understand." With a _pop_ he was gone. He was a fairy, oh no.

"No, no, no, no! He can't be a fairy. I can't read fairies. But I could read him just like a Were! How did he fool me?" I was finally crying, and the last few days came crashing down around me. I had been betrayed, again!

"Granddaughter, I've been told you need my assistance." I heard Niall speak, but I couldn't see him.

"Where are you Great-Grandfather?"

"I am here," and he walked as though through an invisible door to stand in front of me. The vampires backed away from him a bit, giving him full bows, I heard "My Lord" over and over. I remember the Bellefluer double wedding when all the vampires turned to him a bowed. Who would have thought a fairy would rank so high with vamps?

He sat beside me on the step, pulling me in for a hug. Fairies loved touching, I didn't resist him at all. "Tell me what has been going on since I left you on Christmas." So there I went again, telling everything that had gone wrong. At some point during my telling Frannie came out of the house and sat beside me. She helped me fill in some of the more difficult parts. This telling, though, I was able to remember what Octavia had called soul-traveling. I told him how I seemed to have no control of myself, until I saw Quinn. He didn't speak until I was finished.

"Preston said something about Sam. Is Sam missing now?" No one seemed to want to answer. And that was answer enough.

"First Great-Granddaughter, I must apologize. You need to know that fairies are not human; actually we're nothing like human. Vampires were once human, and so they will remember human emotions, and by drinking blood of humans they can feel emotion again. Shapeshifters are humans that just change shape during the full-moon or at will depending on ability. Witches and other practicing magical people are completely human but have learned to manipulate energy and the elements by magic. Sorcerers are humans that are either controlling or being controlled by demons." At my look, he rephrased. "Not demons like the ones you have met. There are others, and they descend from the fae. But the fae are not human, have never been human, and do not have much in common with humans. They can love a human, protect them, but they will still be essentially different."

"Okay, so we're different? Wait. Does that mean we don't think alike? Does it mean our bodies are different, too?"

"With most humans, that's correct. But with you things are different. You're part fae. So your makeup is similar to mine, and similar to human, but it's not exactly like either one."

"Okay, what's your point?" I knew I was being blunt, and by the gasps of everyone around they knew it too. But this was my Grandfather and I was confused, frightened, upset, angry and humiliated. I felt sure he would overlook it.

"I needed you to understand that, before I told you that all of this is my fault." He sighed and looked away from me. "I am the cause of all of this. I sent you a Christmas present, in the form of a fairy who could take on other forms; he could magically alter himself to become anything he wanted to. He could even change his brain patterns to fool a telepath. It seems as though he didn't think to change his scent because all of your friends noticed two fairies. And I assure you, I didn't bring anyone else with me."

"You sent a man to me as a _Christmas Present?!_"

"I did. And I assure you that Claude and Claudine have received many similar gifts in their long lives. It is a gift common among the fae."

"You sent me a _fucking male hooker_ as a present!" I could seem to think straight. I couldn't believe anyone would do this to someone they loved. What? He didn't think I could get a man on my own, so he bought me one? "So now, this _hooker_ is obsessed with me, kidnapping everyone who has ever been interested in me, and you expect me to just be fine with it?" I was yelling at Niall now, standing on the ground in front of him. He shook his head, slowly.

"This is for your own good," he said. I felt his power wash over me, and I started to fall, the vampires rushed forward to help me, and there was another burst of power, but this time around me, not at me. As my knees hit the ground, Frannie rushed forward and helped me to my feet. At a glance I could see the vampire on their knees, too, their heads were bowed and they all looked terrified.

"You may be sworn to protect her, but not from me." His voice rang out over the house and land. "This is my kin and no harm will come to her from me. You can be still or you can leave." He looked at me again, his face gentle.

"What did you do to me?" I asked, holding onto Frannie for dear life. Looking up at the porch I saw Amelia, Octavia and the two boys, Sid and Emilio cowering, clutching one another. Tray, however, looked ready to fight. Briefly, I wondered were Calvin was.

"I have helped you to understand my actions. Know if you were not my kin, I would not have felt obliged to do so. I am a Prince; I am not used to having a child yelling in my face." He took a deep breath and let it out, as thought to calm down. "Look inside yourself and tell my why I sent Preston to you."

"You sent him to me as a gift, you felt my loneliness and it made you sad. You couldn't have someone you love feeling bad on a day important to them. You went about it the wrong way, you see now. But you did it because you thought I would appreciate it." The words sounded mechanical coming out of my mouth. But they felt true. I wondered if he had glamoured me too. My anger at him was gone. But I still wished he hadn't done that to me.

"Now are you ready to talk?" Niall asked me quietly. I nodded my head, mutely.

"It seems the present I chose for you, was not just the wrong gift overall. But it was the wrong person as well. Preston Pardloe is a fairy, you know that, but he's more powerful than I knew. I terribly underestimated him. You thought your bond with Eric was broken because of love for another, Sookie. But it's not so hard to break a bond. You must just bond with another." That threw me for a loop. I wouldn't bond with anyone else!

"I don't know any vampire that well, Niall. I didn't bond with anyone else."

"Ah! Vampires aren't the only creatures that can bond. No, fairies can as well." He knelt down before me, "It seems as though you are now bonded with Preston Pardloe."

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A/N: Once again, if you find a lot of mistakes please let me know. I read it over and over, but I'm not guaranteeing it's error free. Also, in From Dead to Worse, Eric said fairies all have different magic. I thought since Claude and Claudine are twins, their magic should be very similar. I thought Claude would be sight, Claudine as touch, but the magic overall would basically be the same. Just wait until you see what Niall can do!


	8. Chapter 7: The Bond

A/N: Sorry it's taken awhile, I had this chapter written, but I didn't care for the direction it took. I actually planned on taking a few days away from it, so I could come back and make it go how I wanted. That didn't work that well. It's still a little out there. Please remember while reading this that fairies are much different than humans. They are two completely different beings.

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**Chapter 7: The Bond**

After Niall's little proclamation, I jumped to my feet and raced to the hall bath, making it there just in time. While I was getting sick, Amelia was there rubbing my back, and keeping my ponytail from getting nasty. When I was done, I washed my face with cold water and brushed my teeth. Amelia was talking to me, but it sounded like gibberish. I stared at myself in the mirror a long time, finally catching the differences in my appearance. It should be obvious to anyone that I looked different than I did a mere five days ago.

I was leaner, but I'd thought I could explain that away by my lack of appetite since Quinn and Eric had originally gone missing. But that wasn't all; my hair was lighter, no longer golden, but now a pale, nearly platinum color. My face seemed longer. My clothes hung a little loose and a little short now. But how? I hadn't drunk fairy blood! Maybe fairies didn't need blood to bond. What would they need? How could I have bonded with a fairy without knowing? Is that why everyone was telling me I smelled more like a fairy? There were a lot of questions, but Niall was the one who could answer them.

I stopped wasting time, and walked my bottom to the kitchen to get some tea. I got a glass for Niall as well. Then Amelia decided to take the whole pitcher and glasses on a tray for everyone, which was probably a better idea anyway. My thoughts were moving really slow. Thinking felt like trudging through knee deep mud. So, I turned off my mind momentarily and walked to the living room. I curled up in the corner of the couch and closed my eyes. Just a few minutes without thinking, was all I wanted. I heard Amelia tell everyone to come inside. But I was asleep before I heard anything more.

I felt myself tugged out of my body, and I went with it. I didn't have the strength to fight it right then. I walked past Niall, as he entered the living room, and I reached for him. He was the only person I could see. Everyone else had faded away. When my hand touched his shoulder, he jumped. I had to laugh at that, seeing a thousand year old fairy prince startled wasn't something that happened every day.

"Go, and I'll follow," his voice was surprisingly clear. Niall dropped his cane and most of his humanity and walked beside me.

"I can't stop walking Great-Grandfather. I can feel myself being called." I cocked my head to the side, to try to hear the call with my ears. But of course there was nothing.

"Your roommates called this soul traveling," he stated, "but it's not. It is similar, but it is not your soul that is traveling, it's your essence. Your life essence. The witches were so worried about getting your soul back in your body because in soul traveling a body whose soul is gone too long will die. There is no human word for the traveling we are doing right now. Your body, though, is invincible."

"So while my essence is traveling, I can't be hurt? Octavia said she could see souls, so how would she confuse my soul with my essence?" I was finally getting answers! Of course I would have liked those answers while I was in my body, preferably sitting comfortably on my couch.

"You can't be hurt physically. When your essence is pulled out of your body, and someone else is controlling you, there is always the chance of being hurt emotionally. In humans, their soul and essence are combined, in fairies they are separate. So Octavia really sees essences not souls. But there is no reason to know the difference when it comes to humans." He stopped talking for a moment, and I looked at him, really looked. He was a hundred timed brighter than Preston, but his light came from his chest just the same. I averted my eyes quickly once I realized the Niall was nude. Seeing your Great-Grandfather that way is not a good thing. I heard him chuckle.

"Look down at yourself Sookie," and I did. I was nude as well!

"When this happens I'm usually in a nightgown." I felt the urge to cover myself, but Niall stilled my hands.

"This is your natural state. You were in a nightgown because you were fighting it. While you're fighting this 'traveling' you can accomplish nothing. However, if you go with it, as the humans say, it becomes your choice instead of the will of another."

"You're telling me that if I were wearing clothes I would be fighting what is going on? But if I'm nude I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing?" Something seemed so wrong with that statement.

"In simplified terms, yes." I huffed and puffed for a few minutes before Niall said, "Sookie, you cannot fight who you are. You are part fairy and now that you're bonded with a fairy you're at least half fairy. How do you think you were able to move between the two worlds? Someone who is mostly human can't do that."

"I don't want to be bonded to anyone; I just want to be myself. How can we unbond the two of us?"

"You would have to bond with someone else." Okay, not the answer I was looking for.

"Can't we just kill Preston? That will end it, right?" I was hopeful, even though I was talking about murdering someone in cold-blood.

"No, we can't kill him. Your life essences are combined, the death of either of you will be the death of the other." Niall sounded sad.

"How did this happen? I didn't drink his blood. Is there another way?"

"Fairies don't require an exchange of blood." He said disdainfully, "they require sharing your life essence."

"So, how did I do that and not know it?" I was so confused! His answers just opened up new questions. Was nothing simple?

"Fairies don't have to have permission from the human, but you being part fairy should have noticed something. Perhaps it was done while your essence was removed from your body. I don't know." He was a prince for God's sake! How could he not know something, anything? Once more a realization came over me. He was a person just like everyone else. It's funny when that hits you, when you realize that your parents or grandparents aren't just parents but people too. They're people that make mistakes, and have lives that don't include their children or grandchildren. They're people who have affairs with fairies and have children that aren't their husbands. I shook that thought away.

"We're getting close, Grandfather, the clearing is just ahead." There was no blanket on the ground. There was also no magic circle of haze. We came to a stop in the middle of the clearing. I looked around half a dozen times before I spotted Quinn. I ran to him. I still had no way to get his chains off of him. Niall just watched me, and offered no help. Quinn seemed to be asleep and didn't notice our presence.

"Don't you find it odd, Granddaughter," Niall started, "that you can see Quinn but no one else."

"Are there others here?" I looked around again, but saw nothing and no one.

"I'm not sure, but I would assume so. In this state we can only see other essences, not bodies and not souls." His voice was normal enough, but the words were outrageous. I immediately stopped picking at Quinn's chains, and turned to look at Niall.

"So there are species other than fairies that have essences and souls?'

"No."

"Quinn is a weretiger, not a fairy." I said in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"But, did you know that some species of shapeshifter started with fairies?" Okay, now I was in shock. I felt myself drop to the ground right beside Quinn.

"Babe, is that you?" He was awake. I crawled over his sprawled legs and settled on my knees between them.

"I'm here Quinn, Niall is with me. We're going to get you out of here." I looked at Niall, "Help me."

"Break the chains," he said lazily. He was sitting down now, in the exact center of the clearing, relaxing back on his arms. "We have a lot to talk about, Granddaughter, you should hurry."

"How am I supposed to break the chains? They're silver, and they're thick. I'm human, Niall." He sighed, a long-suffering sigh.

"You are not human. Break the chains." I was starting to get angry now. Had Niall forgotten which of his grandchildren he was talking to? I crawled to the side of the tree, grabbed the chain in both hands and pulled as hard as I could. Nothing.

"It's not working, Niall." He sat up all the way, resting his elbows on his knees. I took a moment to just get lost in his beauty. In this form Niall looked no older than mid-thirties. He held himself as someone even younger. His white-blonde hair was lit so that it made an almost halo around his head. There were no lines now; he looked like he couldn't be anyone's grandfather, let alone great-grandfather. I could clearly see all the muscle on his body. Great-grandfathers were not supposed to look like that.

"Sookie, fairies are beautiful creatures. You are beautiful. In fact our entire family line has been beautiful. Look at Claude and Claudine, such beauty is rare in the human world. Would you feel better if Quinn was nude as well?" Before I could answer Quinn's tank top and sweatpants cut-offs were gone. I stared at him, the thin scars criss-crossing his body. His muscles bulging in all the right places, it was truly a sight to see.

"Do I still look better than a Happy Meal to a three year old?" Quinn asked me, my eyes widened and I nodded my head vehemently. He laughed, that throaty rumble that comes from the bottom of his belly, and causes my skin to dance over my spine. At least he seemed comfortable with nudity.

"Chains," I gasped, "How do I get the chains off?"

"What is it those self-help people are saying now? Visualize it happening and then do it." I felt stupid, but I closed my eyes, I pictured my hands on the chain, pulling with my hands and snap, they were apart. Easy enough, I opened my eyes to find I'd done it! I didn't even know my hands were on the chains! But they were broken. I did the same thing to the cuffs on his wrists, and he was free. He jumped up, and pulled me to him. His lips met mine in a panty-soaking kiss. Unfortunately I didn't have panties, but did have a great-grandfather watching. I pulled away from Quinn reluctantly, my embarrassment not being what it should have been, but there none the less.

"Sit with me, we must talk." Niall told us. I sat down across from him, ready for answers. "Have you figured out the difference between soul traveling and what we are doing?" Niall asked me. I shook my head. "When soul traveling, you can't touch anything. You move like a ghost. If you had been soul traveling you would never have been able to pull the chains from Quinn."

"But how was I able to?"

"Your essence takes on your natural form. You are the same as you would be if you were in your body. Right now we're seeing Quinn's essence though it's in his body."

"No, I understand that, I think. But how was I physically able to break the chains?"

"I've told you, you are bonded with a fairy now. That makes you more fairy than you were. Before, the benefits of your fairy blood weren't noticeable. But now, you are at least half fairy, with the strength to match." I thought on that for a moment. Quinn moved behind me, pulling me between his legs. For a moment his manhood was a distraction, but I quickly quashed my arousal. But, again, Niall noticed. "That is a part of your fairy heritage, as well. And in this form, lying is not possible." I decided to try that out. I could lie with the best of them.

"Okay so I can't say, 'the sky is blue, hey I was trying to say red!" Hmm, maybe there was something to this. I turned to look at Quinn. "Do you love me?" He smiled his big white smile.

"If course I love you, Silly." He kissed the back of my head.

"How does Quinn see us? The same as always or how we see each other?" He motioned for Quinn to answer the question.

"Babe, you're you, but you're glowing. You look beautiful. Especially without any clothes." I reached back to smack him. But my hand wouldn't touch his leg. I looked at him confused and he kissed me again. I heard Niall laugh and I turned back to face him again.

"When I said you couldn't lie, I didn't mean just with your words." Hmm, so my initial reaction of smacking him had been a lie. I didn't know if I liked being without my body anymore. I leaned back in to Quinn.

"Okay, so why can we see Quinn?"

"Because he has a very small amount of fairy blood." I felt Quinn stiffen.

"That's not possible," he said. "Only the first born of two full blooded weretigers can become a weretiger, so if there were fairy anywhere in my bloodline I couldn't be a tiger." If we couldn't lie in this state, how could they both be saying opposite things? Niall must have seen the confusion on my face.

"Quinn is in his normal form," he stated matter-of-factly, "he can tell all the lies he wants. But he doesn't know that he's lying. This is what he's been told. And it's true to all the other shapeshifters out there. But not with any cat form. Any were-cat or true shapeshifter for that matter has a fairy as an ancestor. Haven't you wondered were shapeshifters got their start? Preston is a true shapeshifter. He's a full-blooded fairy and can shift into any form he likes, even other humans. Your friend Sam would be visible if he were here."

"What about Alcide? He's a shifter!"

"But not a cat. He's a wolf. Wolves have no fairy blood."

"Then how did werewolves get started if not by fairies?"

"That is a question for the ages. Some say it was a witch or a fairy or something else magical that cursed a man. But others say it was a natural occurrence. They existed long before my time. They've been around even longer than vampires."

"But how did vampires come in to existence?"

"Another question I have no answer to." He shook his head sadly.

"Okay, so who is this fairy in my bloodline? And how did it get there?" Quinn had decided to stop brooding now.

"Who knows? We can look into it, of course, and possibly find it. But it could be just a drop. Perhaps there have been no fairies involved since the weretiger was created. I do not know. Your father could have been a fairy, your grandmother or grandfather. Children of a shapeshifter and fairy, will have the ability to shift. Even if it is only a small amount of fairy blood." I had to think on that one for a minute, too.

"So, where are the others that were kidnapped?" I asked.

"We'll need to get back to our bodies to find them." The three of us stood up, and started walking back to the house. "But remember, both of you, you can't tell anyone of this. It could be dangerous for all involved."

"Which part?" I was confused again. I was starting to get too used to this feeling, and I wasn't happy about it.

"You can't tell anyone about the were-cats. We'll have to explain to everyone why our bodies are collapsed in your house, I hope the witches aren't standing over our bodies muttering." He said, muttering the entire time.

Quinn's arm was around my shoulders, mine around his waist as we walked back. The three of us talked a lot. But the most important part was this.

"Did you wonder why you were pulled out of your body, pulled to the clearing but once you got there the pull stopped." I hadn't wondered that, but I should have. "It was Quinn calling you, not Preston."

"How did I call her? I was asleep."

"You called her mentally. It's a mating ability. Once a were-cat of any breed has chosen a mate, they can call to each other, in their minds."

"I'm so confused," I blurted, "I'm bound to this fairy in one way. I'm bound to Quinn in another way. How did this happen?"

"The easiest to explain is your tie to Quinn. Though he is mostly human, he has animal instincts as well. In the wild a tiger will impregnate a female and go on his way. In weretigers, however, they behave as a fairy would. Their animal instincts in this matter are overruled by fairy instincts. And that is to mate for life. The two of you admitted you loved one another, and in your hearts you've chosen one another for life. So, in the eyes of an animal or a fairy, you've mated for life."

"How did I get bound to Preston?"

"I've told you, he shared his life essence with you." There he went mute. He wouldn't explain to me how it was done, no matter how many ways I asked.

"Then what should I do about Preston? I don't want him to be able to 'call' me anytime he wants. I don't want that connection to him."

"Then you'll have to bond to another. I wouldn't recommend it. Look at what happened to your friendship with Eric once a bond was forced."

"Couldn't I just bond with you, or Claude or Claudine?" He smiled again.

"Trust me, that is something you wouldn't want to do." So I asked the obvious question.

"Why?"

"You can't bond to a fairy without having sex with one." That stopped me in my tracks. Yuck! There's no way I was bonding with a family member then. Quinn seemed to be on a different thought track.

"You had sex with this Preston?" his voice was even, but I could feel his anger. I suddenly realized I couldn't read thoughts in this form.

"I would have told you about it, but there wasn't time. He pretended to be a Were who needed help. Niall sent him to me as a Christmas present." The thought still made me angry but I understood Niall's reasoning.

"On Christmas?" I could almost hear his heart breaking. I stopped walking and put my hands on either side of his face.

"Quinn, look at me." His eyes remained closed, "Fine, I'll talk to your eyelids. He used fairy glamour on me. Vampires can't glamour me, but fairies don't seem to have that problem. Trust me, I wouldn't willingly be with anyone but you." A part of me couldn't believe what I was saying, but at the same time, I knew I meant it with all my heart.

"You mean that, Babe?" His eyes finally opened and he looked me straight in the eye.

"You know I can't lie without my body. Besides, haven't I always been honest with you?" I smiled and he smiled back. I stood on my toes and kissed him. It was a lingering kiss, one filled with promise. After a moment we began walking again. Looking at Niall and Quinn, I again realized we were all nude. But it didn't bother me as much now. Maybe I was finally accepting our natural state. Perhaps this is what Niall had been talking about. I couldn't help that seeing Quinn's naked body made my entire body clench. But at least I was no longer embarrassed by it.

Walking back into the house, I saw Niall just stepped into his body which was lying on the floor, and his body fluidly rose from the ground, now fully clothed. I walked to my body curled in the corner of the couch and sat down, curling up the exact same way. And suddenly I could feel my body again. Unfortunately, it ached, because it had been in the same position for too long.

I opened my eyes and looked around at all the vampires, the two witches, Calvin, Tray and Frannie. They were staring so hard at me they didn't even notice the naked weretiger standing behind them.

"Frannie," I said, "Look who's here." I pointed to Quinn. Frannie gave a shriek and jumped on him. He hugged her tight, spinning in circles. Hmmm, I thought, He seems happier to see her than he did me. I had to fight a little twinge of jealousy.

Frannie seemed to suddenly realize his unclothed state and pulled away from him, her face bright red, and ran to his truck to get his bag. She was back quickly, throwing a pair of shorts at him, and turning her head while he put them on. Pam, on the other hand, and the rest of the women actually, watched him like they'd never seen something so fascinating. I smiled with pride, knowing he was mine.

"I'll bet you're starving," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. Thankfully no one followed, and once we were out of sight of everyone, he picked me up.

"I'm starving all right." He said, putting his mouth on mine. I moaned a little at the ferocity of the kiss. I wrapped my legs around his waist, squeezing him closer to me for all I was worth. I felt his hardness through his sweats, and couldn't help but put my hand on it. I rubbed all the way up his length slowly back down. He growled from his chest, his mouth never leaving mine. "I want you, now," he whispered into my mouth. I certainly didn't have any better plans.

I found the waist of his pants and pushed my hand down to grasp his thick length. I stroked him again, up and down, up and down, getting quicker and faster with each stroke. Before I realized what had happened, I was naked from the waist down. "Babe, I need you." I felt him sit me on the counter top, then my shirt and bra were shredded on the floor.

"Now, Quinn," I moaned. I spread my legs open as far as I could. And he pushed in to me. Gently at first, letting me get used to his size. Then he pulled almost all the way out and slammed his entire length in me. I cried out. He did it again and again. I couldn't get enough, I met him stroke for stroke, coming off of the counter each time. I'd never gotten it so hard in my life. His mouth left mine and he nipped at my jaw line, and my neck, pressed his face into my breasts, then he latched onto my nipple. "Quinn," I moaned, then he was hitting that spot with every stroke. Almost all the way out and back in. I completely lost my ability to think.

"Cum with me, Babe." That's all it took, and my muscles spasmed. I was seeing stars, falling off a cliff only to be caught by his waiting arms. I screamed his name over and over and there was nothing in the world other than the two of us. And he came with a growl that was more animal than human, pushing into me as deep as he could letting loose a stream of his seed that warmed my body from the inside out.

We stayed there for a long while, gasping, trying to recover from the phenomenal event that had just occurred. Then I heard clapping. Quinn spun around, faster than I could see, covering my body with his. I peeked around his arm and saw the vampires crowded in the doorway to the kitchen. Further down the hall, I could hear Amelia giggling. Oh my God, I thought, I just had sex in front of a room full of people. I knew I'd never live it down. My bedroom had only been a few feet away, why didn't I tell him to take me there? I noticed Quinn was snarling, which didn't seem to affect the vampires much.

"I'm guessing you have a boyfriend now," Apenimon laughed. Quinn lurched forward, but I tugged him back.

"It's okay, Quinn." I rubbed his back, he turned to look at me, his purple eyes questioning.

"She's beginning to accept her nature, Quinn." Niall stepped through all the vampires. Stopping a few feet before him. "Fairies are sexual beings." He poked his head around Quinn to look at my face. "Be proud, Granddaughter, not ashamed." He turned to look at the vampires again. "I'll be off to speak to your King. Please wait here, and I will return." And with a pop he was gone.

I could feel warm liquid running down my thighs to puddle on the counter. Wow, I was beyond embarrassed.

"Um, you guys think you can go to the other room, so I can get up?" I asked them.

"No," Pam said, "The Prince asked us to wait here." Vamps are so literal minded.

"I don't think he meant in that exact place, I think it was more like the general area."

"When a prince tells you to do something, you do it," Pam said, her voice was normal as ever, but her eyes shone with glee.

"Fine," I grumbled, "let me through." I hopped off the counter, smearing my bottom with more of our combined fluids, and walked straight toward the vamps. They stared hard at me, but no one tried to touch and they eased aside to let me pass. I walked into my bedroom and fell heavily on the bed. Quinn closed the door and leaned against it. He was still naked, too. He smiled at me and I watched him start to rise again as he slowly made his way to me.

"Oh no you don't! Once was embarrassment enough!" I told him. But he was already crawling toward me on the bed. I pushed myself backward, moving until I was sitting against the headboard.

"Babe, I haven't been with anyone since you. I've dreamed of being back inside you." He came to a stop beside me, his hand gently caressing my face. "I want to wipe out any memory you have of that fairy." Put that way, I couldn't think of a reason not to, not that I needed much reason.

"Come here, Quinn." I pulled him toward me, and I showed him over and over that the fairy was the last thing on my mind.

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A/N: Am I the only one that puts authors notes top and bottom? Anyway, the counter sex things with everyone witnessing, well ummm that was based on a true story and I just wanted someone else to experience that embarrassment, there is no real purpose... I was kind of thinking of the uncompleted sex in Hadley's kitchen from 'Definately Dead', But Quinn's back! The story isn't too far from being completed. Hopefully I'll have time to work on the next chapter (I haven't even started it) And I do want to apologize for my lack of sex scene writing ability. I just get embarrassed any time I try to write something like that. Maybe I'll get better in time...


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